Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery - University Hospital Greifswald

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at University Hospital Greifswald

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University Hospital Greifswald offers the full range of medical services in these fields. Patients with diseases of the ear, throat, and nose, as well as the head and neck, receive medical care in the department. The department has an excellent infrastructure for performing ENT functional tests in adults and children, as well as state-of-the-art operating rooms in which both simple and extremely complex surgical interventions are performed. The department has advanced laser systems for performing laser interventions for ENT diseases. The department has a Sleep Laboratory specializing in detecting and treating sleep disorders. Important areas of the department's clinical activity also include hearing screening in newborns and cochlear implantation. The department has 30 beds for inpatient treatment. The health of patients is in the safe hands of a highly professional team of doctors. The treatment regimen is developed on an individual basis, taking into account the patient's needs and wishes. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Chia-Jung Busch.

The department is part of the Head and Neck Cancer Center, which is certified in accordance with the requirements of the German Cancer Society (DKG). It successfully treats malignant tumors of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands, etc. Otolaryngologists cooperate closely with oncologists, radiation therapists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and neurosurgeons. The specialists regularly gather at tumor boards to discuss clinical cases and develop the most effective treatment regimens. Surgery is usually the first-line treatment for malignant head and neck tumors. Whenever possible, minimally invasive surgical techniques are used. In addition, when performing operations, surgeons use advanced computer navigation systems that guarantee the safety of manipulations. Surgical treatment is complemented by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. When performing major operations after which the patient has aesthetic defects in the head and neck, plastic surgery is performed with local and skin flaps on a vascular pedicle.

The department regularly admits patients with diseases of the nose and paranasal sinuses. The department's otolaryngologists most often deal with infections of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (rhinitis, sinusitis, maxillary sinusitis, and frontal sinusitis), polyps and cysts in the nose and paranasal sinuses, injuries of the nasal cavity and their complications, including nasal septum deviation and bone fragment displacement. The department's specialists carry out both conservative and surgical treatments. For example, pills from various groups are used to suppress the infectious process. During the treatment of nasal polyps, doctors prescribe corticosteroid sprays or perform surgery, depending on the complexity of the pathology. To repair a deviated septum, the department's specialists perform operations. All surgical interventions in the nose and paranasal sinuses are performed using sparing endoscopic and microsurgical techniques. In some clinical cases, the department's doctors also use laser techniques.

An important place in the work of the department's doctors is occupied by surgical interventions on the auricles, middle ear, and inner ear. Particular attention is paid to cochlear implantation, which has become a revolutionary method in the treatment of severe forms of sensorineural hearing loss. Cochlear implantation can be performed for both children and adults. The essence of the therapeutic technique is to implant a device (a cochlear implant), consisting of internal and external parts. The internal part of the cochlear implant is surgically placed in the patient's cochlea, while the external part of the device with the processor is placed behind the ear. The external part of the cochlear implant picks up sounds and human speech, transmitting them to the internal section of the device, which restores hearing to the patient. Cochlear implant surgery is followed by hearing and speech rehabilitation. This rehabilitation is a set of measures aimed at developing the patient's ability to hear, and recognize sounds and speech with the help of the cochlear implant.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostics and treatment of benign and malignant head and neck tumors
  • Surgical removal of neoplasms using minimally invasive and laser techniques (with follow-up reconstructive plastic surgery, if required)
  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiation therapy
• Diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses
  • Conservative therapy
  • Endoscopic interventions
  • Microsurgical interventions
  • Endonasal laser interventions
• Diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, and hearing loss
  • Conservative therapy
  • Myringoplasty to close tympanic membrane perforation
  • Sanitation procedures for inflammatory processes in the outer ear
  • Ossiculoplasty (reconstruction of the middle ear ossicular chain)
  • Implantation of bone anchored hearing aids: BONEBRIDGE and BAHA
  • Implantation of a partially implantable hearing aid Vibrant Soundbridge
  • Cochlear implantation in adults and children
• Diagnostics and treatment of speech, voice, and swallowing disorders
• Diagnostics and treatment of dizziness
• Head and neck plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery: ear and nose reshaping, soft tissue defect repair, and nasal breathing improvement
• Skull base surgery using advanced navigation systems
• Other medical services