Highly specialised treatments at OUH
OUH treats patients from the island of Funen for many common illnesses.
There are also patients from other Danish regions and in some cases from abroad who receive treatment for more complicated complaints: heart disease, cancer, hyperinsulism and limb replants. Other areas in which OUH excels include allergies, paediatrics, difficult wounds, diabetes, diseases of the trachea, infectious diseases, arthritis and connective tissue disease.
Experts from several specialist areas often work together to treat a patient. The idea of combining several approaches under one umbrella in order to strengthen the treatment on offer has led to the formation of centres which have attracted national and international interest.
The Allergy Centre, an injury centre and a spinal centre contribute to the fact that OUH is a national as well as a regional hospital. In 2007, the H.C. Andersen Children’s Hospital was opened as yet another highly specialised, interdisciplinary centre.
OUH has many specialist departments and sub specialist departments. Apart from heart and liver transplants, almost all treatments available in Denmark can be administered here.
The level of treatment is on a par with the best internationally, not least because of active research and development in collaboration with other countries on most of the many specialist areas.
The rare, the complex and the costly
These attributes could describe some of the highly specialised medical care at OUH.The rare, because patient numbers are limited and such treatment is available only in a few places. The complex or complicated, because diagnostics and treatment require the involvement of several clinical specialities simultaneously.
The costly, because of the specialists involved and the need for a large amount of expensive equipment.
New advanced treatments
The treatment of hyperinsulism is an example of the way in which research benefits the patient – and at the same time of the cooperation across specialities.
OUH is one of only four European sites to offer highly specialised procedures which together allow the hospital to treat children with congenital hyperinsulism. There are many specialists involved: geneticists, nurses and doctors in the paediatric department who treat children with severe disturbances in their level of blood glucose; and the PET centre (Positron Emission Tomography, a method which uses radioactive tracer isotopes to map the size and the spreading of tumours in the body). Furthermore other requirements include: upper gastro-intestinal surgeons, anaesthetists and expertise from the Institute of Pathology. Other treatments which are attracting attention are for instance the procedure to treat asthma which does not use medication but applies heat to the trachea – and a new patient-friendly diagnostic examination for cirrhosis. The previous method was to take a tissue specimen from the liver. Now, a new advanced scan can provide a diagnosis in the space of five to ten minutes, with no side-effects or pain.
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An allergy centre with international distinction Allergies do not easily fit into the traditional health care infrastructure. They nevertheless affect everyone, from children to elderly people and can affect various organs. The causes of allergic reactions are many. Denmark’s only allergy centre therefore works across disciplines, both nationally and internationally.The Allergy Centre sees patients with complicated allergies: allergies to certain medications, foodstuff allergies and anaphylaxis. Whatever the diagnosis, the allergy centre deals with the problem. The Allergy Centre’s international reputation was one of the reasons that a delegation from the British House of Lords visited OUH in the spring of 2007 in order to learn about the latest research and new methods of treatment. On the instigation of the British parliament, the House of Lords then drew up a report describing Danish expertise and how best to prevent and treat allergies in England. |
The centre promotes spine surgery in the region Another example of work across disciplines within OUH is the University Centre for Orthopaedic Surgery, which treats patients for such ailments as disc prolapse, trauma to the spine and degenerative spinal diseases. Orthopaedic surgery and neurosurgery are in the same medical station which provides the framework for cooperation between specialists and ensures that resources are used optimally. This centre has consolidated and strengthened spine surgery in the region. |
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The H.C. Andersen Children’s Hospital – the first children’s hospital in Denmark Up until now, paediatric care has been spread over several functions in different parts of the hospital. Now there will be an integration of the different groups involved in the treatment and care of children. Cross-disciplinary work will be consolidated in the first children’s hospital in Denmark. |
The University Centre for the Healing of Wounds – the first of its kind in the world OUH is a leading hospital in the area of wound treatment. The University Centre for the Healing of Wounds is attached to the department of plastic surgery. Wound treatment is a cross-disciplinary area of expertise which entails close collaboration between various specialists in for example orthopaedic surgery, endocrinology, vascular surgery and dermatology. The centre treats wounds that are not healing as they should. Besides the centre at OUH and the Knowledge Centre for wound healing at Bisbebjerg Hospital, there are no other centres in the world with their own beds and own staff. Both Danish wound centres are meeting with a lot of interest from abroad. |
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OUH revolutionises the treatment of asthma At OUH, a new treatment for asthma is being used which allows sufferers to breathe freely without having to take medicines. The treatment, bronchial thermoplasty, is an investigative treatment in which a so-called bronchoscope is inserted through the nose or mouth and delivers warmth to the airways. A light anaesthetic is administered which means that the patient can go home thesame day. The treatment reduces the amount of smooth muscle in the walls of the airways, which are a contributory factor in the contraction of the airways and thus lead to breathing difficulties. The treatment results in fewer asthmatic attacks, an increase in symptom-free days and improvement in the quality of life. |
A scanner which offers painless assessment OUH has the first fibro scanner in Scandinavia, which provides non-invasive scanning for patients such as those with hepatitis C. The scanner picks up the first signs of liver disease such as cirrhosis. The investigation normally requires that patients undergo a biopsy, a painful procedure that can lead to complications. Patients are now spared this, thanks to the scanner. |
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The national centre for hyperinsulism at OUH The Danish Paediatric Society has recognised the Centre for Hyperinsulism at OUH as a national centre for treatment of the disease. The centre has operated for five years. In 2007 a PET/ CR scanning facility was added. For this procedure, small doses of radioactive substance are administered to the patient. The scan shows whether a patient should remain on medication for life, with the inherent risks of brain damage, or whether he or she can have an operation to eradicate the disease. Today the centre for hyperinsulism is in cooperation with the children’s hospital in London, Great Ormond Street and Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. Both of these hospitals have sent patients for scanning at OUH. |
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