Treatment in Germany attracts patients from all over Europe, Asia and America.According to recent studies, the quality of medical care in Germany not only meets world standards, but also dictates them to the whole world. It should be noted that Germany has the highest level of healthcare spending in the world.
The system of medical institutions in Germany is considered one of the best in the world, is famous for its wide application of innovative technologies and medical interventions, and continues to develop and improve. Whatever the world conditions are today, treatment in Germany will continue to be a benchmark among other countries. What are the advantages of treatment in Germany?
Benefits of treatment in Germany
A huge variety of medical specialties. You can undergo treatment in various areas. However, patients most often turn to German clinics for cardiovascular diseases, infertility treatment, orthopedics and surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and treatment of various types of cancer.
In addition to the best medicine, German clinics employ highly qualified medical staff. Education in medical schools is at a world-class level, and graduation from such a university in Germany is a guarantee of a specialist’s high professionalism.
Important! Modern equipment is the key to effective treatment.
The main companies producing medical equipment are located and operate in Germany, and their subsidiaries are spread all over the world. For example, if you enter the intensive care unit of any city hospital in Moscow or any other city, you will see artificial respiration machines made by Drager — this is a German company that produces the best medical equipment to date.
«German» quality — in every case, in the treatment of every patient, doctors in Germany try and do everything with the most careful quality control.
Types of treatment facilities in Germany:
1. University clinics – are clinics that belong to the medical faculties of universities. In addition to treatment, university clinics conduct scientific research. These are clinics of the highest category, where the maximum amount of high-tech treatment methods is provided. It is there that the most modern equipment is located, the most severe patients are treated, so they employ doctors with vast experience. These clinics have small disadvantages: high occupancy and sometimes lack of comfort (accommodation in 2-3 bed wards).
2. Academic clinics – are clinics that are the training base of a medical institution. The status of «academic» indicates the authority of the clinic, but in no way means that patients are treated here by students.
3. Group of clinics – several clinics belonging to the same medical association. Many network clinics are as well-equipped as university clinics and usually have a higher level of comfort than most university clinics.
4. Private practice – These offices are usually opened by doctors over 60 years of age who are no longer active in the hospital, but who can provide consultations. These types of facilities are good because you can get a consultation from a highly qualified specialist without waiting in long lines at university clinics.
Germany has a huge number of clinics where you can get professional help. However, the preferences of people who have received treatment in Germany have a certain geographical «bias».
On a side note! Traditionally popular treatment in Bavaria is in Munich.
Some famous clinics in Munich and their features
Schwabing
The clinic was established in 1836. Throughout its history, the clinic has been expanding, the buildings have been reconstructed many times. The clinic covers almost all fields of medicine. The strongest side of this institution is pediatrics. In this area, many discoveries were made. The clinic has an emergency center, which is the largest in Munich. More than 35000 patients annually receive qualified medical care. A special Schockraummanagementsystem has been created at the clinic, which allows fast and effective monitoring and intensive treatment of victims of emergencies.
The trauma department is the first of its kind in Munich and the region and has been successfully certified according to the criteria of the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Unfallchirurgie. The department provides special care and treatment for elderly patients after accidents, with specialists from related disciplines working hand in hand to help patients recover quickly.
Schwabing Clinic conducts a large number of clinical trials for the treatment and diagnosis of oncologic, hematologic diseases. Each study is coded. For example, the DSMM XIII study is aimed at treating patients with multiple myeloma. This study is in phase 3, in which the drug is being studied on large groups of patients, the therapeutic effect of the combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone with and without the use of high doses of melphalan in elderly patients is being studied. And such studies are being conducted in many forms and types of oncology. A lot of time and effort goes into applying for and conducting the first stages of trials, whereas in Munich and throughout Germany, trials are already in their final stages, which increases the chances of a cure.
Klinikum der Universitat Munchen – Munich University Hospital
It was opened about two centuries ago. It has a large number of departments, examines and treats patients with various diseases. A special feature of the clinic is the fact that it is a participant of the German Diabetes Research Center, which is developing a multifunctional molecule that combines several hormones.
Harlaching
A leading medical institution specializing in orthopedics. This hospital has an interventional cardiology department that treats elderly patients for whom open and extensive heart surgery is contraindicated. Thus, on July 8, 2016, a surgical intervention was performed on 80-year-old Josef A., who was found to have a leak near his prosthetic heart valve. Given his age and co-morbidities, he would not have survived open heart surgery, so surgeons used a catheter to place a plug near the prosthesis. According to Joseph’s own words, he can continue curling and his health has improved.
At Harlaching, in 2016, in collaboration with the Departments of Pulmonology, Gastroenterology, Intensive Care Medicine and Respiratory Medicine, we opened a unit that deals with weaning patients off the respirator. Patients with respiratory diseases, severe, concomitant pathology after chest trauma, and most often elderly patients, have a lot of problems with disconnection from the ventilator, as their respiratory muscles are weakened and in order for the patient to be able to breathe on their own, it is necessary to perform breathing exercises. Often in many countries, such patients die of secondary infection and the development of pneumonia. Therefore, the establishment of a unit where a stepwise reduction of respiratory support using a multidisciplinary approach is vital.
Bogenhausen Hospital
Like all hospitals in Munich, this hospital has departments in various medical fields. The neurosurgical department deserves special attention. With its state-of-the-art imaging and surgical equipment, the hospital is able to handle the most complex cases. After the diagnosis of a brain tumor, patients are often lost and do not know what to do next, they give up.
At the Bogenhausen Clinic, psychological support is provided during all stages of diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. After a CT or MRI scan, the doctors only get a first impression of the tumor. Then, for a more detailed analysis, a functional MRI is performed, analyzing different parts of the brain, such as the speech center or the movement center. Depending on the location of the tumor, patients undergo either positron emission tomography (PET) to examine brain metabolism or diffusion-tensor imaging techniques to examine motor fibers.
Currently, this clinic performs preoperative mapping of the motor center, language center and motor fibers, using transcranial magnetic stimulation. In addition to tumor examination, this equipment allows surgical intervention even close to vital parts of the brain.
Dr. Muller’s clinic
This center provides a wide range of medical services. The clinic has a high-tech cardiac center that deals with diseases of the cardiovascular system. The center has the latest equipment. To visualize circulatory disorders, such a technique as single-photon, emission, computed tomography is used, which is a diagnostic method of creating tomographic images of radionuclide distribution. SPECT uses radiopharmaceuticals labeled with radioisotopes. Unlike scintigraphy, this technology allows forming 3D images.
Klinikum Rechts Der Isar TU Munchen
The Klinikum Rechts der Isar «Right of the Isar» is a huge scientific and medical complex. Its Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology deserves special attention. This is where the development of an individualized approach to the treatment of breast cancer takes place. Individualization of breast cancer therapy and, if necessary, avoidance of chemotherapy, has become possible thanks to the determination of proteolysis factors in tumor tissues. This clinic has developed the uPA/PAI-1 test, which significantly helps in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Also, the clinic is a participant in various scientific studies, such as the study of the effect of vitamin D intake and the development of breast cancer, the LIPCOS polycystic ovary study, the PEKNO study, which examines postmenopausal patients with bone loss.
A study was conducted that showed that anti-resorptive therapy with bisphosphonates effectively reduces the risk of bone fractures and protects against bone mass loss. The latter can be prevented with adjuvant hormonal therapy in patients with breast cancer.
New technologies are being investigated in the diagnosis of pathologic fractures in breast cancer patients: analysis of trabecular bone architecture using high-resolution MRI to prevent fractures. Developments are also underway in the field of gynecologic oncology: tumor-associated proteolysis is being investigated, integrins and extracellular matrix are being studied, and biomarkers are being emphasized in tumor biology.
This institution conducts scientific work in the field of neonatology and obstetrics. For example, a FELICITy Studie study is being conducted to investigate bimarkers of chronic maternal stress during pregnancy and its impact on changes in infant cognitive development.
The Department of Surgery also conducts a great deal of interesting research. For example, doctors are trying to determine the role of inflammation in the development of cancer. A large number of studies back in the 19th century showed that there is a definite link between chronic inflammation and cancer. However, this statement is like a two-pronged stick. On the one hand, inflammation can be a sign of the anti-cancer immune response and is naturally beneficial. And on the other hand, during inflammation, the body tries to repair tissues and thus reduces the accuracy of cell repair mechanisms, as a result of which defective cells are formed. At this stage, researchers are trying to understand the relationship between chronic pancreatitis and the development of pancreatic cancer, to understand the molecular mechanisms and find means to prevent the development of cancer.
A very promising study at the moment is to understand the interaction between tumor stroma and cancer cells. As is known, carcinogenesis is a multistage process characterized by the accumulation of somatic mutations in a particular cell, which then changes its properties and turns into a cancer cell. There are a large number of studies that examine tumor growth in vitro. However, the rate of cell proliferation does not necessarily match tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, studying the interaction with the stroma is a very important link in understanding the development of the cancer process.
Conclusion
This review presents the latest developments and technologies in well-known clinics in Munich, Germany. As you can see, medicine in Germany does not stand still, but is constantly evolving. Only a small part of the research and innovations that German medicine possesses is presented here. The level of medical care meets all world standards. The benefits of treatment in Germany provide numerous patients with recovery.
By contacting us, Clinics of Munich, you will receive a complete answer about the diagnostic and treatment options for your disease in Munich from leading specialists and receive the most effective treatment possible.