Department of Adult and Pediatric Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery - University Hospital Ulm

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery at University Hospital Ulm

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery at the University Hospital Ulm offers the full range of medical services in areas of its specialization. Founded in 1973, the department has earned the status of one of the best medical facilities of this kind in Germany. The department provides both conservative and surgical treatment of injuries of any severity in adults and children, as well as pathologies and deformities of the hand and foot. The department's specialists also effectively treat bone and soft tissue tumors in cooperation with orthopedists. In the field of plastic surgery, the main focus is on reconstructive interventions, skin grafting, and the removal of benign and malignant skin tumors. The department has 100 beds for the hospitalization of patients. The medical facility is certified by the German Trauma Society (DGU) as a supraregional Trauma Center, so patients can count on high-quality treatment using the most advanced therapeutic methods. The department's trauma surgeons also have long experience in the treatment of injuries in elderly patients (DGU certification). Patient care is provided on both an inpatient and an outpatient basis, with many minor surgical procedures being performed on an outpatient basis without a mandatory hospital stay. The team of the department's doctors works in accordance with current clinical protocols, always prioritizing the use of sparing treatment methods. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Florian Gebhard.

The department's trauma surgeons admit patients with fractures of the upper and lower limbs, pelvis, and spine, as well as joint and soft tissue injuries. The medical facility employs a highly specialized team of experts for the treatment of young patients with fractures. Doctors treat fractures with plaster casts, and in complicated cases, minimally invasive surgery (osteosynthesis) is performed to stabilize fractures with screws, rods, plates, and other metal devices. When performing surgery, trauma surgeons align the fragments of the broken bone, due to which it is securely fixed in an anatomically correct position until complete healing.

The department is one of the largest medical facilities in the south of Germany, specializing in the treatment of spinal injuries. It has gained vast experience in the surgical treatment of spinal fractures, including osteoporotic fractures, and the correction of post-traumatic spinal curvatures. In many cases, orthopedists and neurosurgeons are involved in the therapeutic process. The specialists perform minimally invasive surgery to place modern titanium implants for the treatment of cervical spine fractures. For patients with thoracic and lumbar spine fractures, doctors implant internal fixation systems with angular stability. The department's operating rooms are equipped with advanced navigation systems, with the help of which surgeons manage to place implants and internal fixation systems for stabilizing spinal fractures with pinpoint precision. This very fact plays a decisive role in treatment success. The department's trauma surgeons brilliantly perform vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty to treat spinal fractures with osteoporosis. The use of minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of spinal fractures allows the patient to quickly get rid of pain, and the patient can move independently on the day of the operation.

The department has been treating bone and soft tissue malignancies in adults and children, including spinal tumors and bone metastases, for more than 20 years. Patients with such diagnoses are treated in the specialized Sarcoma Center in close collaboration with the Comprehensive Cancer Care Center Ulm (CCCU). The focus of the department's physicians is on patients with spinal tumors. Degenerative processes in the vertebrae caused by malignant tumor growth are associated with a high risk of paraplegia (impairment of leg or arm function), so tumor surgical removal is required in such cases. Following the resection of a malignant spinal tumor, the department's specialists often perform stabilization interventions to prevent vertebral fractures. Should metastases be detected in the vertebral body, prosthetic repair may be required.

An integral part of the department's clinical practice is hand surgery. The specialists in this field treat traumas, burn injuries, rheumatic lesions, and other hand pathologies. Replantation interventions and surgical repair of congenital hand malformations in children are regularly performed here. Hand surgery is performed using modern microsurgical techniques, powerful surgical microscopes, and other high-tech equipment.

The department offers excellent medical services in the field of foot surgery. Foot diseases and injuries represent a serious problem because patients suffer from pain and cannot move normally. The department admits patients with a wide range of foot pathologies, deformities, and injuries, ranging from hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, hammer toe, Morton's neuroma to Achilles tendon ruptures and heel spurs. Whenever possible conservative treatment is preferred. Surgeons perform operations using minimally invasive techniques. This ensures a rapid recovery for patients in the postoperative period. Many foot interventions are performed in an outpatient operating suite.

The department's key clinical focuses include:

• Adult and pediatric trauma surgery
  • 24-hour emergency medical care for patients with all types of injuries, including highly severe injuries and multiple injuries
  • 24-hour emergency medical care for children with broken bones, soft tissue injuries, tendon injuries, and multiple injuries
  • 24-hour emergency medical care for accidents at work, during leisure time, and sports injuries
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of pseudarthrosis
    • Conservative therapy
      • Shockwave therapy
    • Surgical treatment
      • Osteosynthesis with nails, plates, or rods
      • Transplantation of the patient's own bone tissue from the iliac crest or plastic surgery with artificial materials to replace bone tissue deficiency
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of bone and soft tissue infections
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of bone and soft tissue malignancies of any location, including metastases in the spine and bones in adults and children (interdisciplinary treatment)
• Hand surgery
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of hand injuries
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of chemical burns and fire burns of the hand
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of infectious lesions of the hand
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of rheumatic diseases affecting the hand
  • Surgical removal of hand tumors
  • Surgical repair of hand deformities in children
  • Hand and finger replantation surgery
• Foot surgery
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of foot injuries
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of hallux valgus
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of hallux rigidus
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of innervation disorders in ankle arthrosis
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of acute and chronic ankle ligament instability
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of acute and chronic injuries/diseases of the Achilles tendon
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of tarsal tunnel syndrome
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of Morton's neuroma
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of exostosis
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of heel spurs
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of diabetic foot syndrome
  • Surgical repair of traumatic and degenerative foot deformities
  • Surgical repair of congenital foot malformations
  • Surgical repair of hammer toe and claw toe deformities
  • Surgical repair of foot deformities caused by rheumatic diseases
  • Arthrodesis of the foot and ankle joints
  • Ankle arthroscopy
  • Ankle replacement surgery for arthrosis
  • Tendon surgery (including tendon replacement surgery)
• Plastic surgery
  • Scar revision after accidents, burns, and operations
  • Plastic surgery for soft tissue defects
  • Skin grafting
  • Removal of benign skin tumors: nevi, hemangiomas, atheromas
  • Removal of malignant skin tumors
• Other medical services