Department of General and Abdominal Surgery - University Hospital Oldenburg

About the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery at University Hospital Oldenburg

According to the Focus magazine, the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery at the University Hospital Oldenburg ranks among the top German medical facilities specializing in bowel cancer treatment!

The department offers the full range of services in these medical fields. The department annually performs about 3,000 interventions on an outpatient and inpatient basis. The emergency medical care operates round-the-clock here. The department offers high-quality academic medical care, which also includes teaching and research activities, which contribute to the continuous improvement of treatment techniques and outcomes. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Maximilian Bockhorn.

Of particular interest to the department is surgical oncology, namely the treatment of liver, pancreatic, colon, rectal, esophageal and stomach malignancies. In addition, the department's specialists often have to deal with the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and diverticulitis), proctologic diseases and hernias (inguinal, diaphragmatic hernias). In appropriate indications, the operations are performed using minimally invasive technique (keyhole surgery). Approximately 80% of all interventions on the colon and rectum are performed using laparoscopic technique.

At the center of all the efforts of the department's medical team is the patient with his individual needs and wishes. The preference is given to interdisciplinary treatment, and therefore the department maintains close cooperation with specialists from the related fields, such as gastroenterologists, oncologists, radiologists, etc.

The therapeutic options of the department include:
Surgery to treat benign and malignant esophageal diseases

• Esophageal resection and its plastic surgery using stomach or colon tissues (for example, Merendino procedure)
• Minimally invasive and open surgery in gastroesophageal reflux disease with chronic esophagitis
• Treatment of esophageal achalasia 
• Treatment of esophageal diverticulum

• Surgery to treat benign and malignant pancreatic diseases
  • Partial removal of the pancreas
  • Total removal of the pancreas
  • Multivisceral resection
  • Palliative surgeries
  • Removal of pancreatic cysts through the small intestine (cystojejunostomy)
  • Surgeries (resection and drainage) in chronic pancreatitis
• Surgery to treat gallbladder and biliary tract diseases
  • Gallbladder removal (laparoscopic and open interventions)
  • Resection gallbladder and bile duct tumors (Klatskin tumors)
  • Drainage and reconstructive interventions (for example, the imposition of a biliodigestive anastomosis)
• Surgery to treat benign and malignant liver diseases
  • Typical and atypical liver resections (resections of individual segments, several segments, right/left hemihepatectomy), extensive resections (for example, ALLPS)
  • Liver cyst fenestration
• Surgery to treat benign and malignant stomach diseases
  • All types of stomach resection (laparoscopic and open) with follow-up reconstruction
  • Palliative interventions (for example, in tumor stenosis)
• Surgery to treat inflammatory and hereditary diseases of the small and large intestine (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, SAP)
  • All types of resection (laparoscopic and open), up to proctocolectomy with the formation of ileo-anal pouch
  • Operations in small bowel stenosis
  • Sanitation of anal fistulas
• Surgery to treat sigmoid colon diverticulitis
  • Laparoscopic and open resection of the sigmoid colon with anastomosis
• Colorectal surgery
  • All operations on the colon and rectum (usually laparoscopic)
  • Correction of rectal prolapse, rectocele
  • Transanal endoscopic microsurgery
  • Rectal extirpation
  • Multivisceral resections (pelvic exenteration)
  • Treatment of hemorrhoids 
  • Anal sphincter reconstruction in fecal incontinence
• Hernia repair
  • Treatment of inguinal hernias (open and laparoscopic interventions)
  • Treatment of incisional hernias (open and laparoscopic interventions)
  • Treatment of umbilical and abdominal hernias (open and laparoscopic interventions)
  • Treatment of parastomal hernias
• Surgery to treat benign and malignant thyroid diseases
  • All types of thyroid resection
  • Parathyroid resection
  • Dissection of the cervical lymph nodes
• Surgery to treat benign and malignant adrenal diseases 
  • Adrenal gland removal (usually by means of laparoscopic techniques)
• Implantation of catheters
  • Port-caths
  • Catheters for peritoneal dialysis
• Surgical emergency care (around the clock)
  • All emergency interventions (for example, in acute appendicitis and cholecystitis, hollow organ perforation, bowel obstruction, abscesses, etc.)
• Other medical services