About the Department of Abdominal, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at University Hospital Marburg UKGM
The Department of Abdominal, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM offers all modern surgical interventions in these fields. Specialization covers the treatment of diseases of the abdominal organs, endocrine glands, pathologies of the lungs and chest wall, pathological vascular lesions of all parts of the body. In addition, kidney transplantation and pancreas transplantation are part of the surgeons' tasks. Whenever possible, operations are performed using minimally invasive techniques that have several advantages over classical interventions.
The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Detlef K. Bartsch. According to the rating of the Focus magazine, the doctor is on the list of the best specialists in the field of endocrine and abdominal surgery!
The department pays particular attention to cancer surgery. It performs surgery in patients with malignant tumors of the entire digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary tract and gallbladder, pancreas, small and large intestine), lungs and mediastinal organs, as well as endocrine glands (thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas). In 2017, the department’s specialists performed more than 3,700 operations on the abdominal organs.
Another important focus of the department’s work is endocrine surgery. The department has an excellent national and international reputation in the field of research on the etiology and treatment of endocrine diseases. Due to the high treatment efficiency and excellent results of surgical interventions, the department is one of 4 Reference Centers for Endocrine Surgery certified by the German Society for General and Abdominal Surgery and the Center of Competence (1 of 20 in Europe) of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS).
Many extensive interventions are performed on an outpatient basis. The most common indications for outpatient surgery are inguinal and umbilical hernias, installation or removal of catheters for chemotherapy, diagnostic removal of lymph nodes, removal of superficial tumors, etc.
More and more operations are performed using laparoscopic or robotic techniques, minimally invasively. The advantages of laparoscopy are not only in the cosmetic aspect. After such interventions, pain is less pronounced, patients can quickly return to their normal motor activities and they are less likely to suffer from wound infections or ventral hernias.
The main clinical focuses of the department include:
- Cancer surgery
- Colorectal cancer
- Familial pancreatic cancer
- Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors
- Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
- Pancreatic cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Endocrine surgery
- All thyroid diseases, including diffuse toxic goiter
- Parathyroid diseases
- Primary hyperparathyroidism (primary hyperfunction)
- Secondary hyperparathyroidism (secondary hyperfunction)
- Parathyroid cancer
- Adrenal diseases
- Conn's syndrome
- Cushing's syndrome
- Pheochromocytoma
- Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
- Insulinomas
- Gastrinomas
- Neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, thymus gland
- Multiple endocrine neoplasias (MEN I and II syndrome)
- Pancreatic surgery
- Pancreatic cancer, including familial cancer
- Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
- Esophageal surgery
- Inflammatory processes (esophagitis)
- Esophageal stenosis
- Esophageal diverticulum
- Achalasia cardia
- Reflux disease
- Esophageal tumors
- Stomach surgery
- Gastritis
- Peptic ulcer
- Esophageal hernia
- Stomach tumors
- Colorectal surgery
- Ulcerative colitis
- Colorectal cancer
- Sigmoid diverticulitis
- Colon and rectal diseases
- Robot-assisted surgery (Da Vinci)
- Removal of benign pancreatic tumors
- Treatment of hernias of the anterior abdominal wall, incisional hernias
- Stomach tumors
- Esophageal tumors
- Vascular surgery
- Peripheral artery disease in the lower limbs
- Carotid stenosis
- Varicose veins
- Vascular aneurysms
- Dialysis access formation
- Thoracic surgery
- Laser surgery of lung metastases
- Surgical and conservative treatment of neuroendocrine lung tumors
- Resection of progressive lung tumors (also using a heart-lung, vascular prosthetics)
- Mediastinal tumors, including thymus surgery
- Minimally invasive thoracic surgery
- Tracheobronchial resection (in collaboration with the Department of Otolaryngology)
- Surgical interventions for emphysema
- Transplant surgery
- Kidney transplantation
- Pancreas transplantation
- Minor interventions
- Gallbladder removal
- Treatment of hernias of the anterior abdominal wall, incisional hernias, inguinal and umbilical hernias
- Removal of small tumors or superficial lymph nodes
- Appendix removal
- Implantation and removal of catheters for chemotherapy or peritoneal dialysis
- Outpatient surgery
- Other therapeutic options
Curriculum vitae
Education and Professional Career
- 1983 - 1990 Study of Human Medicine at the Universities of Aachen, Tuebingen, Duesseldorf.
- 1991 Doctoral thesis defense, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf.
- 1991 Admission to medical practice.
- 1991 - 1994 Research Fellow in the Department of General Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM.
- 1991 Certified rescue service physician, Medical Association of North Rhine.
- 1994 - 1996 Scholarship of the German Research Foundation, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Washington, St. Louis, USA.
- Since 1996 Research Fellow in the Department of General, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM.
- 1998 Training course for project managers in genetic engineering in accordance with §15 (4) GenTSV.
- 1999 Board certification in Surgery, Medical Association of North Rhine.
- 1999 Habilitation in Surgery.
- 1999 Appointment as Senior Physician in the Department of General, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM.
- 2001 - 2002 Training course in business administration for doctors, diploma in health economics.
- 2003 Leading Senior Physician in the Department of General, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM.
- 2003 Additional specialization in Abdominal Surgery.
- 2003 Certified KTQ training course for hospital staff.
- 10.2004 Extraordinary Professor, Philipps University of Marburg.
- 06.2005 - 04.2008 Head of the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Municipal Hospital Bielefeld-Mitte.
- 06.2006 Theoretical basics of the specialty in Radiation Protection, Medical Association of North Rhine.
- Since 02.2008 Additional specialization in the Thoracic Surgery.
- Since 05.2008 Head of the Department of General, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Marburg UKGM.
- Since 03.2012 Member of the ENETS Advisory Board.
- 11.2015 - 11.2018 Chairman of the Surgical Association of Endocrinology (CAEK).
Clinical Focuses
- Gastrointestinal cancer surgery (special focus on pancreatic, stomach, colon and rectal surgery).
- Endocrine surgery (interventions on the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, pancreas, resection of carcinoid tumors).
- Minimally invasive surgery.
Memberships in Professional Societies
- German Society of Surgery.
- German Society of Abdominal Surgery.
- Surgical Working Group on Molecular Oncology (CAMO).
- Surgical Research Section of the German Society of Surgery.
- German Pancreatic Club (Deutscher Pancreas Club).
- European Pancreatic Club.
- International Association of Pancreatology.
- Surgical Working Group on Endocrinology (CAEK).
- Surgical Working Group on Oncology (CAO).
- German Cancer Society.
- 04.2003 - 04.2005 Representative of the Society of Abdominal Surgery in the Board of the Surgical Research Section of the German Society of Surgery.
Photo of the doctor: (c) UKGM - Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg GmbH