Professor, Double Doctor of Medicine, Klaus Rainer Kimmig

Positions held and memberships in scientific and professional societies

Chair of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Duisburg-Essen;
Head Physician and Medical Director of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at University Hospital Essen;
Head of the Essen I Breast Centre at the West German Cancer Centre BWTZ;
Head of the Essen Centre for Ontogenetic Cancer Surgery;
Vice-President and Chair of the Education Committee of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology ESGO (2011–2015);
President of the Society of European Robotic Gynaecological Surgery SERGS (2019–2021);
Board member of the International Gynecological Cancer Society International Gynecological Cancer Society (IGCS) (2016–2020);
Head of the European Centre in Gynaecological Oncology, Essen European Centre in Gynaecological Oncology;
Head of the European Training Centre for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Essen European Training Centre for Obstetrics and Gynaecology;
Member of the faculty board of the European Academy of Senology European Academy of Senology;
Core faculty member of the European School of Oncology Faculty of the European School of Oncology (ESO);
Member of the medical society for surgeons specialising in pelvic surgery Society of Pelvic Surgeons (SPS);
Head of the Essen School of Robotic Precision Surgery;
Head of the outpatient chemotherapy unit;
Head of the Centre for Gynaecological Cancer Surgery.

Professor Rainer Kimmig is a world-renowned specialist both in the treatment of breast cancer and in the management of benign and malignant gynaecological conditions, as well as in obstetrics. International patients are often unaccustomed to such a broad specialisation among German professors. We are frequently approached by women asking us to "find the best specialist for cervical or ovarian cancer", without a clear picture of how Western doctors are trained and how they acquire additional qualifications and subspecialties. Professor Kimmig is a striking example of how successfully several qualifications can be combined.

Professor Kimmig is known as a pioneer of computer-assisted precision surgery and is recognised as an innovator in developing gentler, minimally invasive techniques for removing the uterus (hysterectomy) and for treating endometriosis.

Thanks to his vast clinical experience in operative surgery and in the drug treatment of cancer, and his use of the latest scientific advances, Prof. Kimmig and his colleagues are always able to offer their patients the most advanced and least invasive treatment options. Alongside his clinical practice, he heads a team of researchers working to refine diagnostic methods and drug therapy, while Prof. Kimmig himself focuses on optimising surgical treatment techniques.

Since 2002, the research group led by Professor Kimmig, the «Gynaecological Oncology Study Group» (AGO), has built up the Essen research centre for ovarian and breast cancer on the academic and clinical base of the University of Essen, where numerous studies are conducted for patients. The research of Professor Kimmig and his colleagues includes clinical programmes on tumour-specific treatment and on securing long-term survival after gynaecological cancers.

As a member of the scientific council and Vice-President of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology ESGO, Professor Kimmig established a Centre for Gynaecological Oncology, which was certified by ESGO in 2008 in accordance with European quality standards for medical care. The centre has also been certified by OnkoZert of the German Cancer Society DKG as meeting the highest quality standards in the treatment of cancers in women.

In addition, Professor Kimmig is the author and co-author of more than 500 scientific publications and numerous specialist works in the field of gynaecological oncology and minimally invasive surgery; he was the first to describe the removal of a tumour together with its entire anatomical compartment and its regional lymphatic drainage "en bloc", using fluorescent mapping of the lymphatic pathways. Two of his trainees have gone on to head departments at prestigious German universities — in 2012 Pauline Wimberger took the chair of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Technical University of Dresden, and in 2017 Bahriye Aktas the chair of Gynaecology at the University of Leipzig.

Professor K. R. Kimmig's areas of specialisation

minimally invasive surgery using computer-assisted and robotic technology, including in the treatment of malignant tumours;
robotic gynaecological surgery;
ovarian tumours;
carcinoma of the cervix and the body of the uterus;
vulvar tumours;
vaginal carcinomas;
endometrial carcinoma;
chemotherapy for gynaecological cancers;
systemic immunotherapy;
benign gynaecological conditions;
benign and malignant breast diseases;
plastic surgery for breast augmentation and breast reduction;
urinary incontinence;
fibroids and uterine prolapse.

Range of diagnostic services

diagnosis of breast tumours using mammography, breast MRI and high-frequency sonography;
three-dimensional and four-dimensional ultrasound;
diagnosis of gynaecological tumours using high-frequency sonography;
colour-coded Doppler ultrasound, PET-MRI and PET-CT;
detection and characterisation of circulating tumour cells in peripheral blood vessels and bone marrow in breast cancer and gynaecological tumours;
specialist consultations for breech presentation where a vaginal delivery is desired;
specialist consultations for multiple pregnancy where a vaginal delivery is desired;
early detection of pre-eclampsia by measuring the sFlt-PLGF ratio.

Range of therapeutic services

treatment of benign and malignant breast diseases;
minimally invasive surgery (keyhole technique) for the gentle treatment of benign and malignant conditions of the uterus and ovaries;
radical and organ-sparing surgery for malignant tumours of the uterus, ovaries, vagina and labia (inguinal, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, exenteration);
reconstructive surgery to restore the patency of the fallopian tubes after sterilisation;
paediatric gynaecological surgery;
aesthetic genital surgery;
surgery to preserve fertility for patients undergoing treatment that is toxic to the ovaries (for example, chemotherapy);
drug therapy for cancer;
caesarean section using the gentle Misgav Ladach method;
urogynaecology: pelvic floor weakness (for example, uterine prolapse), urinary incontinence (urge incontinence, stress incontinence, overflow incontinence);
three-dimensional and four-dimensional ultrasound.

Surgical operating techniques

1. Peritoneal mesometrial resection PMMR with diagnostic or therapeutic removal of the lumbar and pelvic lymph nodes in the treatment of uterine cancer (so-called "targeted compartmental lymphadenectomy", in line with the Essen treatment concept)

2. Total mesometrial resection TMMR with diagnostic removal of first-, second- and third-tier lymph nodes in the treatment of cervical and vaginal cancer.

3. Vulvar field resection VFR with diagnostic or therapeutic removal of first-, second- and third-line sentinel lymph nodes and anatomical reconstruction in the treatment of vulvar cancer.

4. Use of different approaches to cancer field surgery and lymph node removal, depending on the individual ontogenetic stage of local or regional tumour spread.

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