School of Medicine
Chair of Thoracic Surgery
Teaching and research into the treatment of chest conditions
The Chair of Thoracic Surgery at Witten/Herdecke University is based at Kliniken der Stadt Köln gGmbH, Cologne Merheim Medical Centre, within the Lung Clinic at the Centre for Thoracic Surgery, Pneumology/Oncology and Sleep and Respiratory Medicine. The Thoracic Surgery department in Cologne-Merheim offers the full range of thoracic surgical procedures. One of the department’s main areas of focus is thoracic oncology, which includes, amongst other things, surgery for lung cancer. Treatment in the field of functional thoracic surgery is also provided.
Chair holder and Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery in Cologne-Merheim
Prof. Dr. med.
Stephane Collaud
Chair Holder
Faculty of Health (School of Medicine) | Chair of Thoracic Surgery
Ostmerheimer Str. 200
51109 Köln
Room number: 2.090
Research
Personalised medicine in collaboration with the Institute of Pathology
Personalised medicine is based on the principle of offering functional, oncological and social treatment plans tailored to each individual patient. The identification of individual mutations, particularly in tyrosine kinases, has dramatically expanded our understanding of how tumours function. At the same time, this has led to the development of therapeutic approaches that represent a new dimension in the treatment of lung cancer. Diagnostics today focus on detecting mutations that are specific to the individual tumour and allow for targeted treatment of the disease. This represents a shift away from empirical treatment with standard drugs towards highly selective receptor-targeting drugs.
Another key area is the stage-appropriate treatment of lung cancer. This is based on precise diagnostic procedures for so-called staging, which enables individually tailored oncological treatment.
Thoracic surgical techniques
The quality of a surgical procedure is largely determined by the surgeons’ knowledge of surgical techniques and healing processes. As many procedures have been developed empirically, there is a significant need for research in this area. The Chair and the Clinic specialise in laryngotracheal surgery and oncological thoracic surgery.
Functional thoracic surgery
Functional impairment caused by COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or pulmonary emphysema and diaphragmatic paralysis can be improved through surgical intervention in selected cases. The research focuses on patient selection and the mechanisms underlying functional improvement.
Oncological and thoracic surgery studies are conducted as part of multicentre national and international trials.
For the Pulmonary Clinic, these tasks are carried out by the Pulmonary Clinic’s Clinical Trials Centre. Trained study nurses and doctors work there in accordance with the principles of ‘Good Clinical Practice’ (GCP). There are collaborative partnerships with the Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM) and the Centre for Clinical Studies (ZKS) at Witten/Herdecke University.
Publications
All publications by the Chair of Thoracic Surgery at UW/H are listed in the university bibliography.
Teaching
The Pulmonary Clinic operates as an organ-specific centre in collaboration with the other departments at Merheim Hospital and offers ideal conditions for the training of medical students. The Pulmonary Clinic treats 12,000 outpatients and 4,000 inpatients each year. The high number of patients and the broad spectrum of conditions enable patient-centred and practice-oriented training across the entire spectrum of lung diseases. The transfer of knowledge goes hand in hand with learning the necessary practical skills.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
The various disciplines represented in the Pulmonary Clinic work closely together in their day-to-day clinical practice. This is reflected in student teaching: the training content is developed jointly and is clinically relevant. The disciplines of radiology, pathology and radiotherapy are also integrated. To ensure a holistic, patient-centred education, we also incorporate complementary disciplines such as social work, nursing and psychology. Students come to understand medicine as an interdisciplinary practice. In this context, patients are to be viewed as individuals in their entirety and remain at the centre of care.
The team at the Chair of Thoracic Surgery
Secretariat
U. Hasberg
Tel.: +49 221 8907 - 18640
Fax: +49 221 8907 - 3048
hasbergu@kliniken-koeln.de