Consultation Hours & Appointments::

Wednesdays, 08:00 Uhr - 13:00 Uhr

Prof. Dr. med. Aristotelis Perrakis
 Frau Sara Al-Madhi

Tel.: 0391/67-15529

Dear Patients,

In our consultation hours, we advise you about treatment options for::

• benign and malignant diseases of the pancreas 

Oncology Expertise

Magdeburg University Hospital is highly specialized in the treatment of cancer and offers many years of experience in the surgical procedures required for this purpose. If you have a malignant disease, you will be treated before and after surgery in a interdisziplinären Tumorkonferenz advise on whether further targeted treatment (e.g. chemotherapy, radiation) will be necessary. If chemotherapy is necessary, we will work closely with your treating oncologist, but can also provide further therapy in our clinic Chemotherapieambulanz,  by our team here in house 60a. This means that you can be cared for by one team throughout the entire treatment period and always have a contact person for your questions.

You are also welcome to come to our office for a second opinion.

Individual multimodal Therapy Concepts

In order to offer you an individually tailored therapy concept, we work closely with colleagues in gastroenterology, radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, anesthesiology and pathology. This close collaboration enables us to draw on the entire spectrum of modern therapeutic modalities for each patient, which, in addition to surgical procedures, also includes endoscopic (ERCP, PTCD, photodynamic therapy) and radiological-interventional procedures (transarterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, brachytherapy, selective internal radiotherapy, SIRT). Thus, especially patients with advanced tumor diseases can be treated in the context of a multimodal therapy concept.

As our patient, you will therefore be treated by specialized doctors from several disciplines before, during and after your inpatient stay. Our guiding principle is that the doctor comes to the patient and not the patient to the doctor. You will already be seen by specialized doctors from various disciplines during your consultation, who will draw up an individualized treatment plan for you, and provide detailed information about the planned therapy or operation. Appointments are then organized by our patient management team. If an inpatient stay becomes necessary, you will be cared for on our Ward 1, which specializes in liver and pancreatic diseases. For the interdisciplinary treatment of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), due to the complexity of the treatment options, there is also a dedicated Germany-wide unique HCC Station, where interdisciplinary rounds are conducted daily.

Operations Planning

Surgical treatment of diseases of the liver includes a wide range of surgical techniques. Especially for the liver operations frequently performed in our clinic, which require removal of more than half of the liver tissue, precise surgical planning is necessary to avoid postoperative complications. We perform standardized liver function tests and often preoperative 3D image analysis in collaboration with the  MeVis Medical Solutions AG  to minimize the surgical risk for the patient.

Today, most liver and pancreas operations, even highly complex ones, are successful without a blood transfusion, so that this treatment option need not be withheld from patients who reject the transfer of foreign blood.

Minimally Invasive Liver and Pancreas Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery ("keyhole surgery") is a standard procedure for gallbladder removal. We also offer gallbladder removal via a single incision at the belly button (SILS: Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery).  This makes the operation even gentler and the scar at the navel is often no longer visible.

However, the general advantages of minimally invasive surgery (small scars, less postoperative pain, less impairment of the immune system, faster recovery of gastric and intestinal motility, shorter hospital stay) naturally also apply to surgery of the liver and pancreas. Therefore, more complex liver and pancreas surgeries are increasingly being performed with minimal invasive techniques in our hospital. Atypical and anatomical partial liver resections, as well as pancreas left resections for benign diseases, are routinely performed laparoscopically. For this purpose, we have access to the most modern 3D video systems.

Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Liver and Liver Metastases

In liver surgery, our clinic has a high success rate and experience with a long tradtion.

Benign liver diseases (hepatic adenomas, hepatic cysts, less commonly hemangiomas or focal nodular hyperplasias) usually require surgery only for increase in size or discomfort. Usually, these diseases can be treated using minimally invasive (laparoscopic) techniques.

The most common malignant disease of the liver is the metastasis of colorectal cancer to the liver. Surgical removal of liver metastases is the best treatment option and can be performed several times if necessary. In our interdisciplinary tumor conference, we recommend whether liver metastases should be removed before the colon cancer is removed (so-called "liver first approach") or after surgery for the colon cancer. At the same time, the type and timing of chemotherapy and, in individual cases, ablative therapy are suggested.

The treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is carried out at our center on a specialized, interdisciplinary basis that is unique in Germany. HCC-Station . This approach ensures patient- and disease-centered treatment. Therapy is coordinated by an interdisciplinary team of experts during outpatient consultations and daily on the ward.

Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Bile Ducts and Gallbladder

In the case of tumors of the gallbladder (gallbladder cancer) or the bile ducts (Klatskin tumor), removal of larger parts of the liver is usually necessary. This is the only way to completely remove the tumor. If the rest of the liver is healthy, up to two-thirds of the liver can be removed, since the liver is the only organ in the body that can grow back to its original size.

The therapy of Klatskin tumors in particular therefore requires seamless interdisciplinary cooperation. As part of the pretreatment, stents are inserted by endoscopic procedures to relieve the pressure on liver segments to be preserved. Since surgery for Klatskin tumors is usually only possible through extensive liver resection, portal vein embolization can be performed preoperatively by radiologists, which leads to an increase in volume (hypertrophy) of the remaining liver. This ensures adequate liver function after surgery.

For large liver tumors, we also use modern procedures such as the so-called "Associating Liver Partition and Portal vein Ligation for Staged hepatectomy" (ALPPS) to induce volume hypertrophy.

In order to ensure international data collection and thus scientific evaluation, as well as Quality Control, our clinic is a member of international scientific networks that support Behandlung von Gallengangskarzinomen and the application of the ALPPS-Verfahrens .

Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Pancreas

In the treatment of diseases of the pancreas (acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer), we have extensive experience and a long tradition. We have treated more than 1000 patients with pancreatic diseases in the last ten years, about half of them have undergone surgery. A wide range of surgical procedures ensures that each patient receives the optimal operation for his or her situation.

There is close contact with the „Arbeitskreis der Pankreatektomierten“, a self-help organization for all patients who have or are suspected of having a pancreatic disease. Here, questions beyond the hospital stay are discussed and patients as well as relatives are supported in coping with the disease.

Research focuses on deciphering the mechanisms of disease development in acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. In the clinic's own laboratories, it is possible to examine the hereditary predisposition for the development of pancreatic cancer and other tumors in the blood. We also offer this diagnostic service to other hospitals, patients who are not treated by us, and their relatives.

In order to be able to offer each patient an individual therapy in the future, we are conducting research in the field of personalized medicine. Here, we are investigating biomarkers in the PANCALYZE study to predict the course of disease in pancreatic cancer.

On account of the many surgeries we perform for pancreatic cancer,  Pankreaszentrum we have set up a collective pool of our experience and expertise and made it available to you.

More information

• Deutsches Krebsstudien Register - Aktuell in Deutschland durch geführte Studien  (deutschsprachig): http://www.studien.de
• EORTC European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - Internationale Studien  (englischsprachig): http://www.eortc.org
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie  (deutschsprachig): http://www.dgch.de
• Deutscher Pankreasclub e.V.  (deutschsprachig): http://www.pankreasclub.de/
• Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft e.V. (deutschsprachig): http://www.krebsgesellschaft.de/
• Arbeitskreis der Pankreatektomierten e.V.  (deutschsprachig): http://www.adp-dormagen.de/
• Deutsche Akademie für Mikrotherapie: www.dafmt.de