Mission Statement
The Department of General ENT, Head and Neck Surgery deals with all aspects of the entire specialty as regards diagnosis, conservative and surgical therapy, except those designated to the Departments of Phoniatrics and Neurootology.
One clinical and research focus is diagnosis and endoscopic treatment of diseases of the inner nose and the paranasal sinuses as well as the adjacent skull base. Here, the department ranks amongst the pioneers with a worldwide reputation. Even tumors in this area in many cases can be removed endoscopically and "traditional" radical surgical procedures thus avoided. In co-operation with the department of neurosurgery, "endoscopic rhino-neurosurgery" has been developed, resulting in a minimally invasive approach to lesions of the pituitary, the clivus and the adjacent regions intracranially.
A major task is diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors of the head and neck region together with its early detection and function preserving surgical, radiotherapy and or chemo-radiotherapy techniques. Close co-operation exists with the Departments of Clinical Oncology and Radiotherapy of the MUG: Treatment options, therapies and follow-up of patients are dicussed and planed in interdisciplinary oncologic-board-meetings. Close co-operation exists as well with other neighbouring specialities like Dermatology, Heamato-oncology, Thoracic-Surgery etc., for whom assistance is offered by obtaining biopies/lymphnodes from difficult to access areas for diagnostic purposes.Tumors of all salivary glands, especially of the parotid are operated under nerve monitoring. Recently, sialendoscopy of the major glands has been introduced at the department.
Plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic surgery of the face, head and neck are performed by specially trained surgeons, as are dacrycystorhinostomies, orbital and optic nerve decompressioins, if required. Sleep medicine is another major field of research and clinical therapy, especially for heavy snorers and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
On an out-patient base, more than 2.000 patients per year undergo allergy testing at the department and if required, specific immune-therapy.
Univ.-Prof. Dr.med.univ. Dietmar Thurnher