About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Spinal Surgery at St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen
The Department of Adult and Pediatric Spinal Surgery at the St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen offers the full range of conservative and surgical treatment of degenerative spinal diseases, injuries and deformities. The department's specialists have a perfect command of a huge number of techniques, which guarantees each patient an individual treatment regimen focused on the optimal result. If surgical treatment is required, all interventions are performed in accordance with the very latest standards, using sparing or minimally invasive techniques. The main goal of the department's doctors is not only to eliminate the spinal pathology, but also to preserve the functionality of the spine as much as possible. The department is certified by the German Society for Spine Surgery (DWG), which means high-quality treatment of spinal pathologies, including rare and especially complex ones, with the use of modern medical advances. The department is headed by PD Dr. med. Cornelius Jacobs. The specialist is distinguished by exceptional professionalism in his field of competence. According to the Focus magazine, he ranks among the best spinal surgeons.
The department specializes in the treatment of intervertebral disc diseases, spinal injuries, the correction of congenital or acquired spinal deformities, as well as in the treatment of vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis and oncological lesions. Initially, the department's doctors carry out conservative therapy (for example, drug therapy, therapeutic exercises, blocks for back pain elimination, etc.) and only in the absence of the desired result, they resort to surgical measures. Spinal surgery is performed using the very latest surgical techniques – microsurgery, minimally invasive procedures, neuromonitoring to exclude damage to the spinal cord and nerve endings.
The priority areas of the department's work include the treatment of benign and malignant spinal tumors. These neoplasms often compress the spinal cord and nerve roots, and therefore the department's surgeons perform effective surgical interventions to resect the tumor and decompress nerve structures.
Of particular interest to the department's doctors is the treatment of age-related changes in the spine and back pain in the elderly. The therapy is aimed at eliminating symptoms and improving mobility. An important part of postoperative treatment is rehabilitation, which helps to restore maximum mobility of the spine and consolidate the result of the surgical intervention.
Many patients, including young people, come to the department with complaints of chronic back pain. In some cases, the doctors of the medical facility manage to cope with pain using physiotherapy and the intake of pills. However, such an approach is not always effective, and then the specialists resort to infiltration therapy (drug blocks). The injections are performed under CT guidance, which guarantees the highest safety of therapeutic manipulations and the best result. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated. To treat pain syndrome caused by facet joint damage, the department's doctors use endoscopic facet joint denervation.
The department's range of medical services includes:
- Diagnostics and treatment of spinal disc herniation
- Diagnostics and treatment of spinal tumors and their complications (for example, spinal stenosis)
- Diagnostics and treatment of spinal injuries
- Diagnostics and treatment of rheumatic spinal lesions
- Diagnostics and treatment of inflammatory spinal diseases: spondylodiscitis and spondylitis
- Diagnostics and treatment of vertebral fractures: vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
- Stabilizing spinal surgery (spinal fusion)
- Conservative treatment of spinal diseases, including physiotherapy, CT-guided facet joint block, etc.
- Surgical treatment of spinal deformities in children and adults (vertebral displacement, kyphosis and scoliosis)
- Spinal surgery in the elderly
- Other therapeutic options
Curriculum vitae
Professional and Scientific Career
- Since 01.04.2019 Head of the Department of Adult and Pediatric Spinal Surgery at the St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen.
- 2016 - 2019 Senior Physician, Spinal Surgery Center (Level 1), Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Bonn.
- 2014 - 2016 Head of Unit and Senior Physician, Department of Traumatology and Spinal Surgery, Charite University Hospital Berlin, Campus Virchow.
- 2012 - 2014 Board certification, Charite University Hospital Berlin, Campus Virchow.
- 2006 - 2010 Assistant Physician, Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, BG Unfallklinik Ludwigshafen.
- 01.2009 - 12.2009 Rotation in the Department of Orthopedics at the University Hospital Heidelberg.
- 01.05.2004 - 10.2006 Assistant Physician, Department of Surgery at the University Hospital Heidelberg.
Academic Training
- 2004 Full admission to Medical Practice.
- 2003 Internship.
- 2002 One-year practice in Surgery at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (Academic Hospital of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa), Department of Internal Medicine at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (Kathmandu, Nepal), Department of Anesthesiology at the Hanover Medical School.
- 1996 - 2002 Study of Human Medicine at the University of Goettingen and the Hannover Medical School.
Habilitation
- Habilitation in Orthopedics and Traumatology, University of Bonn. Subject: "Fracture of the thoracic spine – development and minimally invasive stabilization using 3D optical techniques".
Doctoral Thesis
- Doctoral thesis defense, Hannover Medical School, Department of Neurosurgery, Nordstadtkrankenhaus Hannover. Subject: "Clinical assessment of meningioma of the wing of sphenoid bone with special attention to surgical resectability".
Scientific Focuses
- Intraoperative 3D imaging, as well as 3D endoscopic procedures in spinal surgery.
- Analysis of accident mechanisms and their impact on spinal injuries.
Qualifications
- Master's certificate of the German Society for Spine Surgery (DWG).
- Basic certificate of the German Society for Spine Surgery (DWG).
- European Spine Course Diploma.
- Additional qualification in Special Orthopedic Surgery.
- Additional qualification in Special Traumatology.
- Additional qualification in Emergency Medicine.
- Director of ATLS Medical Course.
- Director of PHTLS Medical Course.
Photo of the doctor: (c) Katholische Kranken- und Pflegeeinrichtungen Leverkusen GmbH