Professor Axel Heidenreich, MD, Dr. h.c.

Professor Axel Heidenreich, MD, Dr. h.c. (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c Axel Heidenreich) has been Head of the Department of Urology, Uro-Oncology, Special Urological and Robot-Assisted Surgery at the University Hospital Cologne since 2015. After completing his training in Germany and the United States and working at a health research centre in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Heidenreich served as Deputy Head of the Department of Urology at the University Hospital Cologne and of the Department of Adult and Paediatric Urology at University Hospital Marburg. From 2004 to 2008 Professor Heidenreich headed the Section of Urological Oncology within the Department of Urology at the University Hospital Cologne. From 2008 to 2015 he was Head of the Department of Urology at the University Hospital Aachen.

Professor Heidenreich's main areas of medical research are: molecular prognostic factors in urological malignancies; factors of resistance of urological malignancies to radiotherapy and chemotherapy; molecular targeted therapy of urological malignancies; and surgical techniques for locally advanced malignant tumours of the genitourinary tract.

Prof. A. Heidenreich has received numerous scientific awards, including: the Paul Mellin Award of the North Rhine-Westphalia Society of Urology (NRWGU) in 1989, 1998, 2005 and 2010; the Award of the European Symposium on Urolithiasis in 1993; the Peter Bischoff Award of the North German Society of Urology (NGU) in 1995; the Heinrich Warner Award for achievements in uro-oncology in 1997; the European Association of Urology Award for achievements in uro-oncology in 2000; the R. L. Bard Award of the German Society of Urology in 2001; the Maximilian Nitze Award of the German Society of Urology in 2002; the Research Award of the European Association of Urology in 2003; and the Bernd Schönberger Award of the Kidney Transplantation Working Group of the German Society of Urology in 2009.

Prof. A. Heidenreich is Chairman of the Board of the Association of Uro-Oncologists of the German Cancer Society, Chairman of the Board of the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Testicular Cancer of the German Cancer Society, a member of the guidelines committee of the German Society of Urology, Chairman of the prostate cancer guidelines committee of the European Association of Urology, Chairman of the European Society of Uro-Oncology and Chairman of the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group; a member of the testicular cancer research task force of the French Cancer Society, a member of the Advisory Board of the Society of Uro-Oncology of the Republic of Belarus, a member of the Advisory Board of the Russian Society of Uro-Oncology and a member of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Society of Uro-Oncology. In 2017 Prof. A. Heidenreich became an honorary life member of the Georgian Association of Urology and an international member of the Korean Urological Association.

In 2017 Prof. A. Heidenreich was awarded the title of Adjunct Professor of Uro-Oncology at the Medical University of Vienna.

According to the annual ranking published by “Focus” magazine, Professor Axel Heidenreich, MD, Dr. h.c., has for several years running been listed among the best German specialists in the treatment of benign and malignant tumours of the genitourinary tract and among the 100 best doctors in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Department of Urology, University Hospital Cologne I Areas of specialisation

• drug therapy and surgical treatment of malignant tumours of the genitourinary system (adrenal glands, kidneys, bladder and ureter, prostate, testes, and penile carcinoma);
  
• minimally invasive therapy of the ureter and of kidney stone disease;
  
• benign conditions of the prostate, ureter and pelvic floor;
  
• treatment of urological conditions in children;
  
• treatment of urinary incontinence;
  
• reconstructive surgery of the genitourinary tract;
  
• treatment of urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract
  
• chemotherapy for cancer of the bladder, testes, kidneys and prostate;
  
• organ-sparing kidney surgery, enucleation of renal tumours;
  
• testicular tumours, testicular germ cell tumours;
  
• radical cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder;
  
• retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (post-chemotherapy);
  
• robot-assisted radical prostatectomy;
  
• reconstructive surgery of the ureter and urethra;
  
• anomalies of the ureter and urethra;
  
• prostate cancer;
  
• renal cell carcinoma;
  
• bladder cancer;
  
• removal of stones from the kidney and ureter.

Structure

• certified Prostate Cancer Centre;
• Centre for the treatment of benign prostate conditions;
• Centre for pelvic floor disorders and urinary and faecal incontinence;
• inpatient department;
• outpatient department;
• three operating theatres;
• an operating theatre for intraoperative radiotherapy.

The clinical Department of Urology at the University Hospital Cologne is the largest urological centre in Germany. Patients have access to the full range of modern urology services, including paediatric urology. The department favours minimally invasive surgical techniques and practises organ-sparing tumour surgery, above all for tumours of the upper urinary tract, as well as surgical treatment in paediatric urology.

The Department of Urology is certified as:

• an expert centre for the treatment of testicular cancer;
  
• an expert centre for the treatment of prostate cancer;
  
• an expert oncology centre;
  
• an expert centre for the treatment of prostate disorders;
  
• a centre for a "second expert opinion" in the treatment of testicular cancer;
  
• a centre for pelvic floor disorders and urinary and faecal incontinence.

Prostate cancer treatment

The Department of Urology at the University Hospital Cologne has many years of experience and outstanding expertise, above all in the treatment of prostate cancer, and offers patients an individually tailored choice of treatment methods. At the hospital, patients are advised and treated by a team of recognised experts specialising in various fields of medical science. The doctors of the interdisciplinary prostate cancer centre, together with their colleagues – medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists from related departments and urologists in private practice – aim to provide the most effective therapy and support possible for patients with cancer of the prostate, for their families and for everyone who turns to the centre for advice and consultation. During a detailed consultation the patient is presented with all possible treatment options, after which an individual treatment concept is drawn up for each patient. Since 2010 the centre has performed high-precision robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Open and minimally invasive surgery are also part of the department's proven therapeutic arsenal. The high qualifications and extensive experience of the doctors at the interdisciplinary centre make it possible to structure the patient's hospital stay optimally during surgical treatment of prostate cancer and to ensure that medical care meets the highest quality standards.

Bladder cancer treatment

The Department of Urology within the Cologne university medical complex also holds a world-leading position in the field of bladder replacement with a permanent, surgically reconstructed neobladder. The hospital has accumulated vast experience in surgery of this kind, matched by the outstanding quality of its counselling and therapy.

The aim of the hospital is not only to deliver high-quality medical care, but also to create an atmosphere of trust within its walls: both of these conditions are of considerable importance in ensuring maximum treatment effectiveness and the best possible quality of life for patients.

Use of the Da Vinci robot

The department performs all types of open, laparoscopic and endoscopic video-assisted procedures using the DaVinci robot. Its surgical repertoire includes all forms of urinary diversion after radical cystectomy: ileal conduit, continent urinary reservoir, orthotopic neobladder, and a sigmoid colon reservoir with ureterosigmoidostomy. For consultation in complex cases requiring an interdisciplinary approach, dedicated consulting hours are reserved for obtaining a second opinion from a uro-oncology specialist, and special weekly meetings of the uro-oncology expert working group are held.

Range of diagnostic services:

• transrectal histoscanning and prostate biopsy in cases of suspected prostate cancer;
  
• multiparametric MRI for the diagnosis of prostate carcinoma; MRI-guided prostate biopsy;
  
• fluorescence cystoscopy with resection of bladder tumours;
  
• 18CCholin-PET/CT for the diagnosis of prostate cancer;
  
• FDG-PET/CT for the diagnosis of testicular and bladder carcinoma;
  
• laparoscopic diagnosis and orchidopexy in children with abdominal cryptorchidism.

For their participation in a number of research projects, many members of the urology department's staff have received numerous national scientific awards.

Endoscopic procedures

• transurethral bipolar plasma vaporisation of the prostate;
  
• transurethral laser ablation of the prostate;
  
• endoscopic laser stone removal (ureterorenoscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy / nephrolitholapaxy);
  
• extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).

Range of surgical procedures

• nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy (both open surgery and using the Da-Vinci robotic surgical system) and laparoscopic lymphadenectomy;
  
• radical prostatectomy after radiotherapy;
  
• brachytherapy for prostate carcinoma;
  
• high-intensity focused ultrasound (HiFu) and focal photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer (with the photosensitiser TOOKAD Soluble ®);
  
• radical nerve-sparing cystectomy in men and women;
  
• nerve-sparing radical cystectomy in men with preservation of the prostate and of the ability to ejaculate;
  
• reconstructive bladder surgery (Ileum Conduit, Pouch, Neoblase);
  
• radical nephrectomy for kidney cancer (both open surgery and using the Da-Vinci robotic surgical system);
  
• organ-sparing resection (enucleation) of renal tumours (both open surgery and using the Da-Vinci system);
  
• surgical treatment of kidney cancer with tumour thrombus in the inferior vena cava;
  retroperitoneal post-chemotherapy nerve-sparing (ejaculation-preserving) lymphadenectomy for testicular cancer;
  
• organ-sparing enucleation (resection) of testicular tumours;
  
• various types of laparoscopic and retroperitoneoscopic procedures (performed through punctures in the retroperitoneal space);
  
• systemic chemotherapy and targeted therapy for metastatic urological tumours.

Areas of reconstructive urology

• reconstructive surgery of the external genitalia;
  
• urological surgery in children (for hypospadias, epispadias, myelomeningocele, vesicoureteral reflux);
  
• reconstructive surgery of the urethra, including the use of oral mucosal tissue;
  
• ureteral bowel substitution for long strictures or injuries of the ureters;
  
• nephrovesical bypass shunting, ureteral prosthetics;
  
• corpus cavernosum implants for erectile dysfunction, placement of an artificial
  sphincter for urinary incontinence;
  
• microsurgical procedures;
  
• kidney transplantation, including donor kidneys;
  
• kidney transplantation in ABO-incompatible patients;
  
• surgical shunt creation and implantation of CAPD catheters.

© Copyright msp group germany.
Use of materials from the msp group germany website without a direct hyperlink to https://msp-ger.com/ is prohibited, as it infringes the exclusive copyright of msp group germany and may entail liability under the law "On the Management of Copyright and Related Rights"