Professor Martin Scholz — neurosurgery and neuro-oncology in Germany

Professor Martin Scholz — one of Germany’s leading experts in neurosurgery, vascular neurosurgery, paediatric neurosurgery, microsurgery of tumours, endoscopic craniosynostosis surgery, video angiography and micro-Doppler sonography.

Diagnosis and surgical treatment of rare diseases, delivered by highly skilled doctors. The Department of Neurosurgery at the «Klinikum Duisburg» medical centre, part of the «Sana Kliniken» group, has been certified for many years as a centre for the treatment of neurosurgical conditions, including complex cases and the most severe stages of disease. The credit for building a neurosurgical centre of such a high standard belongs to the department’s first head physician, Professor Bettag, and to his successor, Prof. Dr. med. Werner Hassler. Since October 2009 the post of head physician has been held by Prof. Dr. med. Martin Scholz. A recognised specialist in microsurgery and endoscopy, Professor Scholz is a worthy custodian of the department’s traditions.

The Duisburg hospital is one of the largest expert centres for neurosurgery in Germany and treats patients from Duisburg and the surrounding area, from other regions of Germany and from other countries around the world. A significant proportion of its patients come from Arab countries and from the post-Soviet states, primarily from Russia. The inpatient neurosurgery unit, with 68 beds, treats around 3,000 inpatients a year, while some 7,000 patients are seen on an outpatient basis.

The department uses the very latest surgical techniques, including mouthpiece control of the operating microscope, which leaves the surgeon both hands free. Its three operating theatres are equipped to the highest current medical standards. Microsurgical and endoscopic procedures are offered alongside conventional open surgery. In addition to the classic conditions treated in neurosurgery, the doctors here focus above all on rare diseases and have built up extensive experience in this field. In the area of vascular neurosurgery the department uses state-of-the-art video angiography and micro-Doppler sonography to operate on spinal fistulas, haemangioblastomas, angiomas and complex aneurysms, and performs extra-/intracranial (EC/IC) bypass surgery.

In paediatric neurosurgery the department works closely with the department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine and successfully operates on cranial vault anomalies and hydrocephalus, including in children under the age of two. Procedures make use of neuroendoscopic methods as well as high-resolution navigation technology. During diagnostic work-up in children, great care is taken to avoid exposing young patients to X-rays and CT scans: the findings needed for diagnosis are obtained using MRI and ultrasound. The department treats children and adolescents with encephalocele, spinal lipomas, neurocytomas and other rare conditions requiring neurosurgical intervention.

The Department of Neurosurgery also offers neuromodulation — a treatment method for complex pain syndromes.

In neuro-oncology — the branch of neurosurgery concerned with the treatment of cancer – the very latest medical techniques are used, including neuronavigation, intraoperative ultrasound examination and delineation of tumour margins with a fluorescent tumour marker to achieve complete resection of the tumour. Specialised ultrasound technology makes it possible to display the position of the brain’s blood vessels precisely on a computer screen, which plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of strokes and haemorrhages. In collaboration with the departments of haematology, oncology and radiation oncology, an individual treatment concept reflecting the latest advances in medical science is drawn up for every patient. Particularly challenging for neurosurgeons are conditions with lesions located in and behind the orbit and in the skull base: surgery in these areas of the body is fraught with complications.

Professor Hassler, the predecessor of the department’s current head physician Professor Scholz, gained worldwide recognition for his outstanding work in the field of orbital surgery. In operations on the orbit, the department combines conventional and endoscopic surgical methods with the «contralateral» approach: this is often the easiest way to reach the site of the disease.

The Duisburg school of spinal surgery is distinguished by close interdisciplinary cooperation combined with microsurgical techniques of the very highest standard. When operating on a herniated disc in the cervical spine, for example, a channel is drilled into the side of the vertebra to join the natural opening through which the spinal nerves exit. The nerves are carefully moved into the new opening, where they are no longer compressed. In complex procedures, interdisciplinary cooperation involving neuroradiologists, surgeons, thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons and trauma surgeons takes place directly during the operation. The municipal medical complex «Klinikum Duisburg» is an academic and clinical teaching hospital of the medical faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen. The complex is set in wooded parkland in the south of the city. The department’s work is shaped not only by high-tech medical techniques but, above all, by patient-centred medicine. The patient is not a passive participant in the process but a full partner of the doctor. The entire course of treatment and the medical techniques used must be explained to the patient in order to avoid unnecessary fear and anxiety on their part.

Professor Martin Scholz’s areas of expertise

brain tumours in children and adults;
vascular neurosurgery (treatment of angiomas, cavernomas, aneurysms);
microscopic surgery of the skull base, the orbits and the pituitary gland (orbito-spheno-petroclival meningiomas, stereotactic radiosurgery of petroclival meningiomas, pineal gland tumours);
paediatric neurosurgery;
endoscopic craniosynostosis surgery;
endoscopic surgery of the ventricular system;
instrument-based diagnostics of the spinal canal (including the cervical spine) using navigation;
microsurgical treatment of tumours and degenerative conditions of the spinal canal.