Department of Gynecology and Mammology - University Hospital Halle (Saale)

About the Department of Gynecology and Mammology at University Hospital Halle (Saale)

The Department of Gynecology and Mammology at the University Hospital Halle (Saale) provides a wide range of medical services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the female reproductive system and the mammary gland. The therapeutic options of the department include conservative and surgical methods. The main focus of the department's clinical practice is the medical care for women with oncological diseases such as uterine, cervical, ovarian, endometrial, vulvar, vaginal, and breast cancer. Since 2004, the department has had the status of the Breast Center (certified by the German Cancer Society (DKG) and the German Society for Senology (DGS)). The medical facility was also certified as a Center for Gynecologic Oncology by the German Cancer Society (DKG) in 2019. The department is also certified in accordance with DIN 9001:2015 standards, which indicates the excellent quality of medical care. If surgical treatment is indicated, minimally invasive surgical techniques are used whenever possible. Surgery for cancer is usually accompanied by chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy. Women's health is in the safe hands of highly qualified experts with extensive clinical experience and thousands of lives saved. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Markus Wallwiener.

The most important place in the clinical practice of the gynecologists of the department is given to the treatment of oncological diseases of the female genitalia. The department has extensive experience in the treatment of endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, and uterine sarcomas. Since 2009, the department has had the status of a specialized Center for Gynecologic Oncology, certified by the German Cancer Society (DKG). The first priority is the development of an individual treatment regimen taking into account the needs and wishes of the woman. For this purpose, the department holds weekly tumor boards with the participation of doctors from related specialties. Doctors review the patient's diagnostic data and discuss possible treatment options. Surgery is usually the first line of treatment. If clinically indicated, the department's gynecologists perform sparing minimally invasive operations; in the advanced stages of gynecologic cancer, specialists resort to a pelvic exenteration followed by reconstructive plastic surgery. In most cases, surgery alone is not enough to achieve a successful therapeutic outcome, so patients also receive drug treatment with chemotherapy, hormone therapy, antibody therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. In some cases, radiation therapy is required and it is performed by specialized doctors. The age of the patient is taken into account when developing the treatment regimen. When treating cancer in young women, doctors always make every effort to preserve reproductive function.

The department also diagnoses and treats a full range of benign gynecologic conditions. Patients with uterine fibroids, benign neoplasms arising from the smooth muscle cells of the cervix or uterine body, often come to the department for treatment. The gynecologists of the department closely cooperate with interventional radiologists, thanks to which the patients of the department can undergo modern and maximally sparing procedures for the removal of uterine fibroids, for example, uterine artery embolization. At the stage of treatment planning, doctors take into account the presence of reproductive plans, the patient's age, and the size and location of the uterine fibroid. Specialists strive to perform effective therapeutic manipulations while preserving the uterus, therefore hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus) is the last line of treatment. The department successfully performs hysteroresection of uterine fibroids, laparoscopic removal of uterine fibroids, and removal of uterine fibroids through the classic open surgical approach (in rare cases). The department also practices enucleation. This is a minimally traumatic and effective method of removing uterine fibroids.

The department has a Breast Center certified according to the standards of the German Cancer Society (DKG) and the German Society for Senology (DGS). The medical team of the Breast Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant breast diseases and mammary gland malformations. Early detection of breast diseases significantly increases the chances of their successful treatment, especially in the case of breast cancer, which is why modern diagnostic rooms with the possibility of performing sonography, digital mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging are available here. In many cases, breast cancer is caused by a genetic predisposition to this type of oncology, so the department offers special consultations aimed at identifying individual risk factors and initiating preventive measures. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, the first-line treatment in most cases is resection of the malignant neoplasm; in the advanced stages of oncology, a mastectomy is performed, followed by reconstructive plastic surgery. To successfully combat breast cancer, comprehensive treatment is required, so surgery is usually supplemented by chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and radiation therapy.

The department's range of medical services includes the following:

• Gynecology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of malignant diseases of the female reproductive system
    • Diagnostics and treatment of endometrial cancer
    • Diagnostics and treatment of uterine cancer
    • Diagnostics and treatment of cervical cancer
    • Diagnostics and treatment of vulvar cancer
    • Diagnostics and treatment of vaginal cancer
    • Diagnostics and treatment of uterine sarcomas
  • Diagnostics and treatment of benign diseases of the female reproductive system
    • Diagnostics and treatment of uterine fibroids
    • Diagnostics and treatment of endometriosis
    • Diagnostics and treatment of cervical dysplasia
    • Diagnostics and treatment of urogynecologic diseases: urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse
    • Diagnostics and treatment of malformations of external and internal female genitalia
    • Diagnostics and treatment of chronic vaginal, uterine, and ovarian infections
    • Diagnostics and treatment of adhesions in female genitalia
    • Diagnostics and treatment of hormonal disorders associated with gynecologic diseases
• Mammology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of breast cancer
  • Diagnostics and treatment of benign breast diseases: mastopathy, fibroadenomas, adenomas, lipomas, and others
  • Diagnostics and treatment of breast malformations
• Other medical services