ENT at Helios Hospital Erfurt certified as cochlear implant-supplying facility

Otorhinolaryngologists from the Head and Neck Cancer Center at the Helios Hospital in Krefeld manage tumor-associated tongue defects using autogenous tissue from the forearm, hip, or back.

The Department of Otolaryngology at Helios Hospital Erfurt has been certified for the first time as a "cochlear implant-supplying facility for adults and children" in accordance with the requirements of the German Society for Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. The requirements are based on the white paper on cochlear implant (CI) fitting. The certification is proof of the high level of expertise in Erfurt: last year alone, more than 70 patients were fitted with a CI at Helios Hospital Erfurt.

People with obstructive sleep apnoea often feel sleepy and tired during the day and have difficulty concentrating. Innovative tongue pacemaker offers hope for sleep apnea patients and expands the range of ENT therapies in the field of surgical sleep medicine. As an alternative to the CPAP mask, the tongue pacemaker can help to keep the airways open - without the need for mask ventilation.

Dr. med. Florian Sack is taking over the management of the ENT department at the Helios St. Anna site in Huckingen with immediate effect. He is following in the footsteps of his long-time mentor Prof. Dr. med. Stephan Remmert, who is taking (partial) retirement after more than 40 years in the profession.

When four-year-old Jayce-Sukree complains of an earache one morning, nobody suspects what the next few days have in store for the family. The discomfort seems harmless at first, because a short time later Jayce is playing happily again. But ten days later comes a shock: the little boy complains of another earache on Sunday morning and his mother discovers that his face is paralyzed on one side. This caused the family great concern and they immediately sought medical help.

Guido Lindken is in his early 50s, a married family man and travels a lot as a sales representative. In his free time, he is active in sports, plays tennis and soccer and meets up with friends. In March 2021, he notices that he finds it harder to breathe and starts sweating quickly even with minor exertion. For no apparent reason, his fitness has declined significantly. When the swelling of the lymph nodes on the left side of his neck persists for weeks and a foreign body-like sensation when swallowing does not go away, he visits an ENT practice.

"I no longer need to play the lottery" - Marcel Straub's story begins seemingly inconspicuously: during a cold, his wife notices that the lymph nodes in his neck are swollen.

What begins as a simple hoarseness changes Thomas Petersjohann's life dramatically. For six months, the symptoms steadily increased. Eventually, he can barely swallow and drinks almost nothing. The frightening diagnosis is a T4a tumor in the larynx. Due to acute respiratory distress, a tracheotomy is necessary, which initially eases the situation. However, the cancer is so advanced that the larynx has to be removed.