Surgery

Surgery was part of the earliest medical arts. As far back as the Stone Age, the first neurosurgeons bored holes in human skulls, down to the dura mater, in order to try to cure various afflictions in the brain. The word comes from the Greek cheirourgike, meaning “work with the hands”.

Today, surgery is used to repair or remove sick organs and tissues throughout the body. Behind the perfect incision lies a broad knowledge of physiology, diagnostics, treatment, and aftertreatment – the patient’s entire health and living situation is crucial for the result. Multidisciplinary collaboration is therefore a prerequisite for the development of this area of skill.
Research today is directed in many respects towards the mechanisms and risk factors behind surgical illnesses – acute abdominal afflictions, tumours, trauma (extremely violent injuries) and chronic illnesses, primarily in the stomach and intestines. Another part of research works with new operating methods, for example robot-assisted surgery used chiefly in procedures on the urinary channels.

Areas of Research

Burn care

Catastrophe medicine

Liver, bile ducts, and pancreas

Plastic surgery and tissue engineering

Stomach and intestines

Thoracic surgery