Establishment of an interdisciplinary skull base center

In order to provide patients with complex diseases or injuries of the skull base region with optimally coordinated, interdisciplinary treatment, four specialist clinics at Heidelberg University Hospital are pooling their expertise: Clinics for neurosurgery; ear, nose, and throat (ENT) medicine; oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMF); as well as radiation oncology and radiotherapy.

"The treatment of diseases of the skull base can only be successful if all disciplines involved work closely together", explains Professor Sandro Krieg, Medical Director of the Department of Neurosurgery. 

One element of the Skull Base Center is the newly established Skull Base Board. In this board, experts from the four clinics work together to develop individual treatment plans for patients with particularly complex conditions. The cooperating departments offer the entire spectrum of modern precision diagnostics, from magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography to endoscopy methods. 

"Close spatial and organizational cooperation enables us to organize examinations and treatments very efficiently. This saves our patients the hassle of making appointments and often also many trips", states Professor Jürgen Debus, Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology / Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center.