New focus on dialysis access surgery: lifeline for dialysis patients becomes a top priority

19/03/2024 16:03

With Dr. med. Tobias Steinke as the new head physician, the vascular medicine center at Helios Hospital Krefeld is setting a special focus for patients with chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis. Born in Essen, he is one of the leading specialists in the field of dialysis access surgery. He laid the foundations for his later medical career at Lutherplatz.

Patients with advanced kidney disease are dependent on artificial detoxification of their body and a functioning dialysis shunt as a permanent access to the vascular system: The blood to be purified is taken from an artificially created short-circuit connection between an artery and a vein, two normally separate blood vessels, purified outside the body in a machine and then returned to the body. The long-term preservation of this shunt is essential for the safety, quality of life and prognosis of those affected. Consequently, rapid assistance is also required in the event of shunt complications, such as insufficient blood flow, stenosis or vascular changes. In future, the Center for Vascular Medicine at the Helios Hospital Krefeld will dedicate itself to the high level of individual care required for this with a separate, head physician-led focus and a new team of experts who will concentrate on precisely this.

High treatment quality and patient satisfaction through further specialization

"The treatment of patients requiring dialysis is often time-critical and complex, because every surgical decision must anticipate the next step and preserve as many options as possible for dialysis access in the future. Dr. Steinke is an internationally renowned expert in this field. He represents this focus of vascular surgery here in the region like no other," emphasizes PD Dr. med. Gabor Gäbel, Chief Physician of Vascular Surgery. "And this involves far more than just the tools of the trade - rather a great deal of clinical experience and passion for this specialty and its further development, as well as a genuine interest in the disease and the personal circumstances of his patients. Very individual treatment concepts tailored to each individual are always required here.

Extensive experience opens up therapeutic possibilities

Due to frequent concomitant diseases, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and diabetes, patients on dialysis often have a variety of vascular problems that need to be addressed not only in a vascular medical setting. Optimal long-term therapy requires close cooperation within an experienced treatment team. "I am pleased that this willingness is already clearly evident among all colleagues," reports Dr. Tobias Steinke. "There is a wide range in the quality of care, which particularly affects complex patients who have often been chronically ill for a long time and are sometimes tired of treatment. Of course, experience also opens up more options here, as does the expertise in all accompanying specialist departments - this is precisely where the strengths of a maximum care provider lie, which also has an exceptionally efficient nephrology and interventional radiology department in Krefeld."

Dr. Tobias Steinke grew up on the left bank of the Lower Rhine. After studying human medicine in Düsseldorf, he began his professional career in 1989 as a junior doctor at Krefeld Municipal Hospital. In 1991, he moved to the surgical department of the St. Josefshospital in Uerdingen. In 1993, he returned to the Krefeld maximum care provider, where he completed his specialist training in surgery in 1996 and his further training in vascular surgery in 2001. Until 2005, the now 60-year-old worked as senior consultant at the Clinic for Vascular Surgery, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Lutherplatz and most recently as Chief Physician at the Schön Klinik in Düsseldorf. Here he very successfully built up a focus on dialysis access surgery with a catchment area from the Lower Rhine to the Ruhr region and towards Aachen.

"Over the years, my relationship with the hospital has never been broken. Back then, I was given the opportunity to experience an extremely broad training here, from which I still benefit. I still know some of my colleagues from before," reveals the new Head of Dialysis Access Surgery. As Chairman of the Shunt Commission of the German Society for Vascular Surgery, Dr. Tobias Steinke also hopes to be able to better represent the interests of clinical care in terms of professional policy. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, water sports, cycling and skiing as well as spending time with his family.

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