Diseases of the stomach and oesophagus

Reflux is a very common symptom where stomach acid or stomach contents flow back into the oesophagus, which can result in heartburn and acid reflux. Surgery is not necessary for every patient. However, if medication fails or the symptoms are very severe or persistent, anti-reflux surgery (fundoplication, hiatoplasty, fundopexy) may prove necessary. This procedure can also be used if there are changes in the lining of the oesophagus (chronic inflammation or Barrett's oesophagus). The majority of these procedures can be performed as laparoscopic surgery using minimally invasive techniques.

Achalasia is a rare disorder of the oesophagus where the muscles in the lower part of the oesophagus cannot relax properly, making it difficult to transfer food and liquids into the stomach.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any such problems.

In addition to standard forms of treatment, our department participates in various international studies to further improve the treatment of gastric and oesophageal cancer. These trials test new drugs and procedures, such as antibodies, which are thought to have a positive effect but have not yet been proven. Participation in therapeutic trials is voluntary, of course, but they offer the opportunity to benefit from innovative forms of treatment before they become generally available.

Benign diseases of the oesophagus and stomach, such as reflux, achalasia, benign ulcers, or tumours, also require differentiated treatment.

Our department has established a special consultation for patients with tumours of the stomach and oesophagus. In this consultation, we provide comprehensive advice on all aspects of the treatment of tumours of the stomach and oesophagus, from surgery to rehabilitation. In addition, we discuss each patient individually in an interdisciplinary tumour conference in order to gather the opinions of all other specialists from internal medicine, radiology, radiotherapy and other disciplines.

Almost all tumourous changes in the stomach and oesophagus require surgical treatment. The very latest procedures involving endoscopic-assisted and laparoscopic surgery are used here. Tumours of the stomach are often malignant, as in the case of gastric carcinoma and require customised, multimodal treatment. We advise you in detail during our consultation and explain whether additional chemotherapy or radiation is recommended before or after the operation in your specific case.