Orthopädische Klinik Markgröningen

Optimum pain treatment is a main specialism of the clinic.

The corresponding structures are created for this in the surgical and conservative field: separate postoperative pain service with specially trained nursing staff; for pain patients who have not undergone surgery, out-patient services are available along with a conservative pain ward with specially trained doctors and psychologists.

Reducing the amount of blood required from donors is intensively driven forward in all relevant surgical areas: any anaemia is discovered and treated before the operation. If necessary, the patient’s own blood can be donated. During the operation, various blood-saving measures, such as the collection and preparation of the patient’s own blood, are applied. Following the operation, anaemia can be treated in a targeted way.

In the field of medical further training, we offer interesting training opportunities for interested colleagues to learn about ultrasound-guided peripheral local anaesthesia.

Range of Services

• General and local anaesthesia
• Out-patient and multimodal in-patient pain
• therapy
• Postoperative pain service
• Premedication out-patient department
• Procedures that reduce blood transfusions from donors
• Intensive care
• Intermediate care
• Conservative pain therapy

The Clinic for Endoprosthetics, General and Rheumatic Orthopaedics has more than 80 in-patient beds and performs around 2,500 operations each year. The specialism of this clinic lies in endoprosthetics, whereby approx. 800 hip joint endoprostheses, 870 knee endoprostheses, 60 shoulder endoprostheses and 20 ankle endoprostheses are implanted per year.

Artificial joints are implanted using a modern, minimally invasive, tissue-conserving surgical technique, in which small access points are chosen that minimise damage to soft tissue. The clinic has become established as an international reference centre for these techniques.

Above all, the clinic has earned an international reputation for difficult endoprosthetics and replacement endoprosthetics. Most replacement operations per year in this field – over 500 – are performed in Baden-Württemberg on the hip and knee joint. The department is also one of the most experienced clinics in all of Germany in treating infected prostheses and attracts patients from virtually the entire country. At the same time, the whole of foot surgery is a specialism of the clinic, which performs all corrective interventions of forefoot deformities such as hallux valgus and claw toe deformities, as well as all operations in the mid- and rear foot through to ankle endoprosthesis or stiffening surgeries.

The third specialism is rheumatic orthopaedics, in which all joint-retaining and joint-replacing interventions are performed here for patients with inflammatory rheumatic illnesses. Soft tissue rheumatology, such as the removal of inflammatory tissue in tendons and bursa sacs, is also practised alongside this.

Range of Services

• Endoprosthetics and replacement endoprosthetics for hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle
• Treatment of infected endoprostheses
• Joint-preserving hip surgery
• Foot surgery
• Rheumatic surgery

Hand surgery

Chief physician Prof. Max Haerle, Secretary General ofthe FESSH (Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand), leads the Clinic for HandSurgery and PlasticSurgery in Markgröningen.

The clinic offers all modern surgical procedures within hand surgery. It not only provides treatment for acute injuries but also the highly specialised treatment of chronic illnesses.

Specialisms include arthroscopic procedures on the wrist, Dupuytren's contracture, injuries to peripheral nerves, and infantile malformations. Prof. Haerle enjoys an international reputation among specialists. The success of the operations depends largely on the correct aftercare by physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Under the leadership of Prof. Haerle, standards were developed in Markgröningen that ensure a successful operation outcome by means of optimum treatment.

Plastic surgery

Besides professional expertise, a dignified and individual approach towards each patient takes priority for us. Alongside plastic reconstructive breast surgery, the treatment of chronic wounds and skin tumours is among our main tasks. In cooperation with the Breast Centre Ludwigsburg- Bietigheim, we ensure the optimum treatment of the female breast at the highest medical level through interdisciplinary collaboration. As plastic reconstructive surgeons, our greatest concern is to reconstruct the shape and function while taking into account an aesthetic appearance. What matters here, in particular, is the experience and skill of the surgeon.
We possess extensive experience in plastic surgery, which we have gained at renowned national and international centres. We treat around 900 out-patient cases per year.

Range of Services

Hand surgery

• Chronic diseases of the hand
• Acute injuries of the hand
• Arthroscopic hand procedures
• Infantile malformations
• Injuries of the peripheral nerves

Plastic surgery

• Reconstructive breast surgery
• Reconstructive surgery
• Chronic wounds
• Dermatosurgery
• Cosmetic surgery

Chief physician Dr. Jörg Richter, an internationally renowned knee specialist, manages the Clinic for Sports Orthopaedics and Arthroscopic Joint Surgery in Markgröningen.

The Centre for Arthroscopy and Special Joint Surgery is one of the surgical centres in Germany with the most state-of-the-art equipment and is considered a reference centre for complex knee injuries.
Over 3,800 operations, mostly arthroscopic interventions to the knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle, are performed each year. At over 1,000 operations a year, the reconstruction of the cruciate ligament holds particular importance.
Further specialisms include cartilage-repairing procedures and axial corrections as joint-retaining operations for knee arthrosis. What’s more, Dr. Richter developed a surgical procedure to position the kneecap anatomically correctly in the event of instability.
Dr. Richter has been able to earn an outstanding reputation in the treatment of international top-class athletes. This is also because the continuous scientific control of surgical results has allowed rehabilitation times to be minimised. This experience benefits all patients.

Shoulder and elbow surgery section

Under the leadership of Dr. Steffen Jehmlich, 900 surgical interventions are performed each year. All modern techniques are performed here using arthroscopic and open approaches. Specialisms include the surgical treatment of shoulder instability and tendon reconstructions, predominantly using the arthroscopic technique. Furthermore, 12 scientific papers were written and over 160 talks given at national and international conferences and symposia in the last 12 years. In addition to patients from the region and other areas of Germany, increasing numbers of internationally renowned top-class athletes are undergoing treatment.

Range of Services

• Complex treatment of the knee joint
• Cruciate ligament operations, including in children (PCL/ ACL)
• Axial correction of the knee joint (valgus/varus)
• Meniscus operations (incl. transplantation)
• Stabilisation of the kneecap
• Ankle operations
• All cartilage repair techniques and arthrosis operations
• Suture and reconstruction for tendon and ligament tears

Shoulder surgery department

• Ligament tears to the rotator cuff
• Stabilisation operations for instabilities
• Shoulder stiffness
• Impingement syndrome
• Bone fractures in the shoulder joint area
• Biceps tendon lesions
• Acromioclavicular joint separation

Spinal surgery

The centre is now among the few institutions of this kind in Germany that offer the entire range of spinal surgery at a high level of quality and also within emergency treatment at all times. In particular, the number of complex spinal interventions and revision interventions is growing continuously.The range of surgical services comprises, anatomically, the areas from the atlanto-occipital and atlanto-axial joints and the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine to the sacrum, and clinically, all acute and chronic disease patterns such as degenerative illnesses (intervertebral disc damage, intervertebral disc prostheses, spinal canal stenosis, de novo scoliosis), accident-related spinal fractures and instabilities, inflammation (spinal suppuration, rheumatism) and tumour disorders. Surgeries comprise all common dorsal and ventral open and minimally-invasive procedures and endoprosthetics of the intervertebral discs. In the Scoliosis Centre, deformities of the spine (scoliosis, kyphosis) are treated surgically with high medical and cosmetic standards. A ward for conservative orthopaedics and multimodal pain therapy was established in 2015. An interdisciplinary team of specialist doctors, therapists and psychologists offers a complex, non-surgical treatment concept for orthopaedic illnesses.

Spinal cord injury

In our Centre for Spinal Cord Injuries, we have the possibility of treating both patients with accident-related injuries and patients who have suffered damage to the spinal cord due to an illness. Acute cases and patients with complications can be treated here. The services include surgical treatment, rehabilitation treatments and lifelong aftercare. For patients with trauma-related paraplegia, we can employ all modern diagnostic methods, such as X-rays, CT scans, spiral CT, MRI and sonography. Necessary surgical measures, e.g. stabilisation measures for spinal fractures from C0 to L5/S1, can be performed at any time. Patients with paraplegia are cared for by specialised doctors in close collaboration with physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and an experienced nursing team. There is also the possibility of intermittent in-patient admission for aftercare with intensive physiotherapy treatment.

Range of Services

• Entire spectrum of spinal surgery
• Juvenile spinal deformities and their long-term sequelae
• From the atlanto-occipital and atlanto-axial joints and the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine to the sacrum
• Acute and chronic disease patterns such as deformities (scoliosis, kyphosis), degenerative diseases (intervertebral disc damage, intervertebral disc prostheses, spinal canal stenosis, de novo scoliosis), accident-related vertebral fractures and instabilities, inflammation (spinal suppuration, rheumatism) and tumour disorders.
• Paraplegia centre
• Conservative orthopaedics and multimodal pain therapy

More and more people are suffering from chronic pain. Pain affecting the musculoskeletal system, particularly back pain, is the most common. A dedicated pain department was established at OKM to treat patients with chronic pain.

In intensive collaboration with all of the departments in the hospital, all the possibilities of modern pain treatment are offered in this department.

A particular focus is the multimodal treatment of patients with chronic pain. This treatment approach attempts, in a holistic approach, to treat all facets of pain development and its symptoms and was developed to stabilise treatment success specifically for these patients. Strategies to manage pain are taught in order to improve quality of life and activity. The maintenance or restoration of a person’s ability to work is important for working patients.

Multimodal programmes require active collaboration and a high level of motivation on the part of the patient. Today, they are considered the gold standard in the treatment of chronic pain.

Our range of treatments comprises therapy in particular for

• Degenerative diseases of the spine and joints
• Functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system
• Structural development disorders of the skeletal system
• Chronic pain disorders with orthopaedic underlying diseases
• Complex regional pain syndrome
• Phantom pain

Range of Services

• Multimodal in-patient pain therapy
• In-patient pain treatment (in parallel with surgery)
• Out-patient pain treatment for patients with chronic pain
• Medicinal pain treatment
• Interventional pain diagnostics and pain therapy
• Treatment of analgesic abuse
• Opiate withdrawal treatment
• Naturopathy
• Acupuncture
• Group therapy for better pain management
• Support from psychological psychotherapists