Elbow and Shoulder Specialists Munich – German Center of Shoulder Surgery

The German Center of Shoulder Surgery at the ATOS Hospital in Munich, under the direction of Prof. Dr Univ. Mark Tauber and Prof. Dr Frank Martetschläger is specialized in treating injuries and diseases of the shoulder and elbow.

Due to the high level of specialization resulting from many years of clinical experience and consistent scientific work by experienced specialists, the German Center of Shoulder Surgery stands for highly developed joint surgery using state-of-the-art surgical techniques involving short inpatient treatment times and high patient satisfaction and success rates.

Shoulder and Elbow Treatment at the Highest Level in Munich

In particular, athletes whose professional careers depend on the rapid restoration of resilient joint function trust the well-coordinated team led by Professors Mark Tauber and Frank Martetschläger.

Specialists for Shoulder Surgery

The shoulder is considered one of the most complex joints in the human body due to its extensive range of motion. This flexibility of the arms comes at the expense of the shoulder joint's stability since the humeral head's bony guidance in a small socket is reduced. This anatomical deficiency is counteracted by a cuff of musculature and stabilizing ligaments. If dislocation of the shoulder joint occurs due to injury, these soft tissue structures are usually affected, making further dislocation incidents likely.

Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

To prevent long-term damage and restore functionality, arthroscopic procedures using keyhole surgery can gently treat the rotator cuff ruptures (tears) and reconstruct the resilient ligaments.

Painful impingement/constraint syndrome, in which the tendons of the rotator muscles are pinched under the acromion when the arms are raised, for example, due to an inflamed bursa, can also be treated by arthroscopic intervention. This access can also be used to remove embedded calcific deposits from the shoulder joint's tendons and treat the long bicep's tendon ruptures.

In addition to these established procedures, the arthroscopic approach also paves the way for innovative methods. Thanks to tireless research, the team led by Prof. Dr Univ. Mark Tauber and Prof. Dr Frank Martetschläger also performs arthroscopic procedures to treat cartilage damage, for example, in the course of load-induced early arthrosis.

Open Shoulder Surgery

If the rotator cuff is irreparably damaged, parts of the large back muscle (latissismus dorsi muscle) or the large chest muscle (pectoralis major muscle) can be transplanted to stabilize the shoulder joint, a so-called muscle transfer surgery.

Endoprosthetic care for advanced osteoarthritis of the articular cartilage can only be implanted in an open surgical approach since large amounts of bone material must be removed to place the prosthesis. On the other hand, upper arm fractures can often be treated minimally invasively with osteosynthesis screws through small skin incisions. In complicated fractures, implanting a shoulder prosthesis may be necessary to preserve joint function.

Experts in Elbow Surgery

The elbow is composed of the three articulated joints between the humerus and the ulna and radius of the forearm. As a proven elbow specialist, Prof. Dr Frank Martetschläger operates in arthroscopic and open procedures, depending on the findings.

Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery

In all three joint compartments of the elbow, entrapments of mucosal folds, inflammations, or bone outgrowths can lead to complaints that can be treated arthroscopically via several minor accesses to the various joint cavities. In addition, the joint cavity can be inspected with optics, and suspicious findings treated via a working passage in one setting.

A particular case is osteochondrosis dissecans, necrosis of bone and cartilage substance on the joint surface, usually caused by sports overload, injuries, or hypothyroidism. Arthroscopy of the elbow joints can determine the extent of the damage and induce self-healing through the body's repair mechanisms by drilling into the site of osteochondrosis.

Open Surgery on the Elbow

An open surgical procedure becomes necessary if the cartilage is transplanted over a large area to treat osteochondrosis dissecans.

Open approaches are also essential to treat acute or chronic dislocation or instability of the elbow joint. In the case of acute dislocation of the joint, the supporting ligaments can be reconstructed using sutures anchored in the bone. In the case of chronic instability of the joint, tendons of the upper/forearm must be transplanted to the elbow joint to reconstruct the ligaments.

For further information, please visit the German Center of Shoulder Surgery website.