Prof. Dr. med. Joachim A. Steffens

Professor Joachim Steffens is Chief Physician of the Department of Adult and Paediatric Urology at St.-Antonius-Hospital in Eschweiler (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). The hospital is an academic teaching and clinical affiliate of the University Hospital RWTH Aachen. Professor Steffens also heads the specialised Prostate Cancer Centre and the Centre for Urinary and Faecal Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Disorders.

Professor Steffens is known far beyond Germany: first, he continues a urological dynasty famous throughout the country; second, his skill as a surgical oncologist has earned him a reputation as one of the finest specialists in the treatment of prostate carcinoma.

Professor Steffens sits on the boards of the European Association of Urology and the German Society of Urology, and for many years he served as the German Society of Urology’s Vice-President and then its President. Dr. J. Steffens takes an active part in the work of numerous national and international medical professional associations.

Professor Steffens’ areas of expertise include andrology, drug therapy for malignant tumours, and radiological diagnosis of urinary tract disorders. In surgical oncology he is a recognised authority: he trains future specialists in the field, runs seminars and live surgery sessions, and examines medical students.

In the category “Experts in tumours of the urological system”, Professor Steffens is named year after year among the country’s best urologists by Focus magazine.

Professor Joachim Steffens’ areas of expertise

• drug therapy and surgical treatment of malignant tumours of the genitourinary system (adrenal glands, kidneys, bladder and ureter, prostate, testicles, and penile carcinoma);
• minimally invasive treatment 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, testicles, kidneys and prostate;
• organ-preserving kidney surgery, enucleation of renal tumours;
• testicular tumours, testicular germ cell tumours;
• radical cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder;
• retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (post-chemotherapy);
• reconstructive surgery of the ureter and urethra;
• anomalies of the ureter and urethra;
• prostate cancer;
• renal cell carcinoma;
• bladder cancer;
• removal of stones in the kidneys and ureter.

Range of diagnostic services

• transrectal histoscanning and prostate biopsy where prostate cancer is suspected;
  
• 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.

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 (open and laparoscopic lymphadenectomy);
  
• radical prostatectomy after radiotherapy;
  
• brachytherapy for prostate carcinoma;
  
• high-intensity focused ultrasound (HiFu) and focal photodynamic therapy for 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-preserving resection (enucleation) of renal tumours (open surgery)
  
• 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-preserving enucleation (resection) of testicular tumours;
  
• various types of laparoscopic and retroperitoneoscopic procedures (performed through small incisions in the retroperitoneal space);
  
• systemic chemotherapy and targeted therapy for metastatic urological tumours.

Areas of reconstructive urology

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

The Department of Urology is certified as:

• an expert Prostate Cancer Centre;
  
• a Centre for Pelvic Floor Disorders and Urinary and Faecal Incontinence.

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