Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Thyroid Diseases
About every third to fourth adult over the age of 45 years in Germany suffers from nodular
alterations of the thyroid gland - by contrast, younger patients are more rare, thanks to the
improved iodine supply since the 80s. At the same time, however, the range of thyroid diseases is
increasing.
The thyroid gland is a small but important organ, since it produces hormones. These are
messenger substances that transfer information within our body and control e.g. the metabolism.
They are of vital importance for the development of the body. Such diseases, however, often lead to
diversified symptoms, which do not allow any direct conclusions to be drawn as to the thyroid gland
being the cause of the disease. Thyroid dysfunctions may affect e.g. the cardiovascular system, the
skin and the hair, the eyes, the weight, the appetite or the psyche. The most frequent disease is
the enlarged thyroid gland - referred to as goitre in colloquial language.
The cooperation of many disciplines is of essential importance so that all patients receive
prompt and optimum treatment. This is the reason why the experts of the EuromedClinic have joined
to form an Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Thyroid Diseases for private and state-insured
patients.
Several experts collaborate with their registered colleagues in private practices and their
general practitioners under the roof of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Thyroid
Diseases. Due to the interdisciplinary network, the experts offer the thyroid patients the
best-possible diagnostic and therapeutic options. The spatial proximity of the experts in the
EuromedClinic additionally facilitates their close cooperation. Most of the patients are in good
hands with their general practitioners or registered thyroid specialists in private practices. Of
course, we are glad to be at their disposal in difficult cases.
In case surgical intervention is required, Prof. Dr. Böttger, with his experience of several
hundreds of thyroid surgeries, will carry out the surgery both in privately and state-insured
patients upon request. Of course, the surgery is carried out with loupes and nerve monitoring; this
provides for the maximum degree of safety for the vocal cord nerves and the parathyroid glands.
The Interdisciplinary Thyroid Centre at the EuromedClinic pursues wide-ranging goals:
• Education and prevention of thyroid diseases
• Encouragement of early-stage diagnosis and treatment
• Interdisciplinary treatment according to the most recent scientific insights
• Creation of interdisciplinary treatment paths for patients and general practitioners
• Provision of important therapy recommendations in individual cases
• Implementation of regular expert conferences
• Rapid exchange of findings and data
• Implementation of quality assurance programmes
• Assistance with the arrangement of appointments and the coordination of treatments
• Placement of additional specialists in case of special problems
• Regular further training for general practitioners and patients
All these measures are supposed to contribute to the prevention and the improvement of the
treatment quality of thyroid diseases. An effective, coordinated and holistic range of treatment
options is supposed to ensure maximum treatment quality. This is mainly of benefit to the affected
patients. As a result, the cooperation between general practitioners and specialists is improved
and the entire treatment thus optimised.
