About the Department of Pulmonology at Charite University Hospital Berlin

The Department of Pulmonology at the Charite University Hospital Berlin provides a full range of medical services in its specialty. The department's team of doctors successfully performs conservative and endoscopic treatment of lung and respiratory tract diseases. The specialists of the medical facility focus on patients with obstructive lung diseases (for example, bronchial asthma and COPD), restrictive and interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary hypertension, autoimmune diseases with lung involvement, and malignant lung tumors. The department is part of the German Cancer Society (DKG) certified Lung Cancer Center, where pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, oncologists, radiation therapists, and other experts work hand in hand. The department is one of the few medical centers in the country with extensive experience in the treatment of severe acute lung failure using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The department has state-of-the-art equipment for diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy. The healthcare facility has all the necessary resources, professional staff, and comfortable infrastructure to provide world-class medical care focused on outcomes and maximum patient benefit. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Martin Witzenrath.

Lung cancer is one of the most common oncological diseases after breast, prostate, and colon cancer. The department is part of the specialized DKG-certified Lung Cancer Center, where pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, oncologists, and physicians of other related specialties work under one roof for the benefit of patients. The center offers state-of-the-art treatment for malignant lung tumors, pleural mesothelioma, and thymoma in accordance with current clinical protocols. When a patient with suspected lung cancer comes to the center, specialists perform a comprehensive evaluation. If the diagnosis is confirmed, additional tests are prescribed to determine the stage of the oncological process. An interdisciplinary tumor board then develops an individualized treatment plan. In most cases, the first-line treatment is surgical resection of the tumor. Early-stage tumors can be removed using a minimally traumatic bronchoscopic procedure. Depending on individual clinical indications, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and other types of systemic treatment may be prescribed in addition to surgery.

The team of pulmonologists in the department is highly qualified in the treatment of rare lung diseases such as sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, rheumatic lung lesions, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchiectasis. Patients suspected of having any of the above diseases must undergo an extended diagnostic evaluation that includes specialized laboratory tests, exercise testing, echocardiography, pulmonary function testing, and pulmonoscopy. Taking into account the results of the preliminary diagnostic workup, an optimal treatment regimen is developed based on a combination of different drug classes. Patients with rare lung diseases are diagnosed and treated in a specialized outpatient clinic.

An important focus of the daily work of the physicians in the department is the interventional treatment of advanced stages of pulmonary emphysema, a pathological condition in which the alveoli expand with destructive changes in their walls. Patients with this diagnosis are often prescribed treatment using bronchoscopic lung volume reduction. During the procedure, special one-way valves are implanted in the lung lobe affected by the pathological process, allowing air to escape from the affected lung. As a result of such a procedure, the volume of the pathological area of ​​the lung decreases, symptoms disappear, and organ function improves.

The department specializes in the diagnostics and treatment of the following diseases:

• Malignant pulmonary diseases
  • Lung cancer
  • Pleural mesothelioma
  • Thymoma
• Benign pulmonary diseases
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Bronchial asthma
  • Interstitial lung disease
  • Restrictive lung disease
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Acute respiratory failure
  • Autoimmune diseases with lung lesions
  • Pneumonia
  • Coronavirus infection COVID-19
  • Rare lung diseases
    • Sarcoidosis
    • Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
    • Rheumatic lung lesions
    • Pulmonary fibrosis
    • Bronchiectasis
• Other lung and respiratory tract diseases

The range of diagnostic and therapeutic services offered by the department includes the following options:

• Diagnostics
  • Pulmonary function tests
    • Body plethysmography
    • Respiratory muscle strength functional assessment
    • Arterial blood gas test
    • Provocation tests
    • Spiroergometry
    • Lung diffusion test
    • Six minute walk test
  • Bronchoscopic examinations
    • Bronchoalveolar lavage
    • Lung and pleural biopsy
    • Endobronchial ultrasound
    • Special tests before lung volume reduction procedure for COPD and emphysema
  • Diagnostic tests for pulmonary hypertension
    • Echocardiography (transthoracic and transesophageal)
    • Right heart catheterization
  • Ultrasound scans of the chest, pleura, diaphragm, and lungs
  • Dynamic fluoroscopy
  • Allergy tests
  • Imaging tests (in cooperation with the Department of Radiology)
    • X-ray
    • Computed tomography
    • Magnetic resonance imaging
    • Positron emission tomography in combination with computed tomography
  • Comprehensive preliminary diagnostics before lung transplant surgery
• Treatment
  • Conservative treatment
    • Drug therapy
    • Respiratory gymnastics
    • Inhalation therapy
    • Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe forms of acute respiratory failure
    • Weaning from mechanical ventilation
    • Preparation for lung transplant surgery and follow-up care
    • Intensive care
  • Bronchoscopic treatment
    • Bronchoscopic removal of early-stage lung and pleural tumors
    • Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction
    • Bronchoalveolar lavage
    • Pleural puncture
• Other medical services