Thoracic surgeon Prof. Dr. Thorsten Walles from UMMD also takes over in Lostau
The chief physician of the department of thoracic surgery at the Universitätsklinik für Herz- und Thoraxchirurgie Magdeburg As of June 1, 2023, Prof. Thorsten Walles, MD, has also assumed the position of Chief Physician of theKlinik für Thoraxchirurgie der Lungenklinik Lostau
Prof. Thorsten Walles, MD, who has been working and conducting research in Magdeburg since 2017, is a recognized specialist in lung cancer surgery and in the treatment of chest diseases and injuries. In his position as chief physician for thoracic surgery in both hospitals, he will also spearhead the development of a joint and nationally operated lung center in the future.
The prerequisite for this dual function is a cooperation agreement concluded on May 12, 2023, between Magdeburg University Medical Center and the Pfeiffer Foundations as operators of the Lostau Lung Clinic. In the future, the two institutions will cooperate closely in various medical areas in terms of content and personnel. The first step is the transfer of the management of the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery at the Lostau Lung Clinic to Professor Walles. The joint clinic resulting from the cooperation will be one of the ten largest thoracic surgery facilities in Germany in terms of operation numbers. It is also one of only a few clinics to have the entire treatment spectrum currently available in the field of thoracic surgery, including robotic surgery and a hybrid operating room. In addition, there is a great deal of experience in the operation of children with lung diseases.
Prof. Dr. med. Thorsten Walles has taken over the position of Chief Physician of the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery at the Lostau Lung Clinic as of June 1, 2023. Photo: Viktoria Kühne/Pfeiffersche Stiftungen
Professor Thorsten Walles says: "I am very much looking forward to this new task. The Lostau Lung Clinic is a renowned specialist clinic for lung diseases with an established lung cancer center. By combining clinical competencies with the University Medical Center Magdeburg as a university maximum care provider, existing medical treatment offers in the northern part of Saxony-Anhalt will be secured as well as previously unavailable treatment offers can be created. With the clinic cooperation, the joint University Lung Center of the University Medicine Magdeburg and the Lostau Lung Clinic expands to two locations."
The form of cooperation between the two sites is unique and future-oriented in Germany. In addition to the establishment of the joint clinic for thoracic surgery and the existing pneumology department in Lostau, both institutions are planning to outsource non-pneumological treatment services from the University Medical Center Magdeburg to Lostau in the future or to create new services there with joint forces. The Universitätsklinik für Pneumologie Magdeburg will continue its work at Magdeburg University Medical Center and further advance the establishment of new treatments in the joint University Lung Center.
Personal
Prof. Dr. med. Thorsten Walles, born in 1972, completed a two-year stay at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, during his studies at the Medical School (MHH) on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He then began working in the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery at MHH. This was followed by professional positions as a thoracic surgeon at other German specialist hospitals and, in 2009, his habilitation at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. He is an elected member of various committees, including the Medical Review Board of the German Research Foundation for Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery and the German and European Guidelines Commission for the Therapy of Pneumothorax. Prior to his appointment at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Professor Walles established and led the Section of Thoracic Surgery at Würzburg University Hospital from 2012 to 2016.
His clinical focus is primarily on advanced tumor surgery and minimally invasive thoracic surgery. Since the beginning of his medical career, his scientific interest has been in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In this field, Professor Walles has developed his own treatment concept in the area of tracheal surgery from basic research to clinical application. This research approach is now part of a platform technology suitable for translational research approaches in the field of immunology and inflammation research and thus fits into the scientific focus of the Medical Faculty.