Dr. med. Wolfgang Reinpold
Dr. Wolfgang Reinpold is a technically very skilled surgeon who – like his partner Prof. Henning Niebuhr – has mastered the entire spectrum of inguinal, abdominal wall, incisional and hiatal hernia surgery. He is one of the international key opinion leaders and top specialists in hernia and abdominal wall surgery. Since 2020, he is one of the first 5 European specialists in this field. His scientific work focuses on the development of minimally invasive techniques to prevent complications, especially recurrent hernias and postoperative pain.
Dr. Reinpold founded Germany’s first hernia center back in the 1990s at Reinbek St. Adolf-Stift Hospital. From 2003 to 2021, he headed the surgical department of the Groß Sand Hospital in Hamburg and developed it into a leading international reference center for hernia surgery.
The E/MILOS procedure developed by Dr. Reinpold has significantly improved abdominal wall hernia surgery worldwide. E/MILOS is the first technique that allows minimally invasive synthetic mesh implantation outside the abdominal cavity for almost all abdominal wall and incisional hernias. By avoiding large incisions and synthetic implants in the abdominal cavity, complications occur much less frequently than with conventional procedures.
Dr. Reinpold’s expertise is in demand at many national and international congresses. In 2019, he successfully hosted the world’s largest specialty hernia and abdominal wall surgery congress in Hamburg as conference president.
Another focus of Dr. Reinpold is education: He is co-founder of the internationally renowned hernia congress “Hernientage” and the German Hernia School. Furthermore, Dr. Reinpold has led thirteen humanitarian hernia missions in Latin America and Africa since 2004. In addition to providing immediate medical assistance to indigent hernia patients, training of medical personnel is an important goal of these missions.
Besides his professionalism, Dr. Reinpold is particularly appreciated by his patients and colleagues for his human and friendly manner.
25
years of experience
in hernia surgery
Personal experience of over 10,000 mostly minimally invasive surgeries of inguinal and abdominal wall hernias.
Inventor and developer of the internationally renowned surgical procedure MILOS
President of the German Hernia Society for many years
(2014-2020)
Conference president of the world's largest special congress for abdominal wall and hernia surgery 2019
Co-founder of the German Hernia School (courses: Hernia Compact, Hernia Concrete, Hernia Complex)
Participation in 13 humanitarian hernia missions in Africa and Latin America to provide care for people without means
Main achievements
Inventor and developer of the minimally invasive MILOS and EMILOS procedure, which is the first surgical technique ever to allow minimally invasive implantation of synthetic meshes outside the abdominal cavity for abdominal wall, umbilical and incisional hernias as well as diastases recti via very small incisions. It started a worldwide trend away from synthetic mesh inside the abdominal cavity and away from large abdominal incisions.
Personal surgical experience of over 10,000 mostly minimally invasive inguinal and abdominal wall hernia surgeries, including over 2,000 incisional hernias, 200 posterior component separations, over 200 surgeries for giant abdominal wall hernias with loss of domain, over 100 surgeries for pain management of chronic inguinal pain.
Introduction of special techniques for the treatment of giant abdominal wall hernias in Germany:
1. endoscopic anterior component separation;
2. posterior component separation - TAR;
3. Preoperative use of botulinum toxin A to facilitate closure of huge abdominal wall defects.
1. endoscopic anterior component separation;
2. posterior component separation - TAR;
3. Preoperative use of botulinum toxin A to facilitate closure of huge abdominal wall defects.
Research and development of new procedures to prevent acute and chronic pain in groin and abdominal wall surgery.
Conference president of the world's largest special congress for abdominal wall and hernia surgery 2019: Annual Congress of the European Hernia Society in Hamburg with over 1500 participants from all over the world.
54 Publication on hernia surgery in peer-reviewed journals.
Over 150 presentations on hernia surgery at national and international congresses.
Member and co-author of several international hernia surgery guideline groups, including:
IEHS guidelines of TAPP and TEP 2009/ 2013;
IEHS guidelines of endoscopic and laparaoscopic ventral and incisional hernia repair, 2018 Hernia Surgery, 1st International Guidelines on inguinal hernia repair;
1. guidelines for incisional hernias of the European Hernia Society.
IEHS guidelines of TAPP and TEP 2009/ 2013;
IEHS guidelines of endoscopic and laparaoscopic ventral and incisional hernia repair, 2018 Hernia Surgery, 1st International Guidelines on inguinal hernia repair;
1. guidelines for incisional hernias of the European Hernia Society.
Co-founder of the German Hernia School (courses Hernia Compact, Hernia Concrete, Hernia Complex) and the now world-renowned special congress for hernia surgery "Die Hernientage" (Hernia Days).
Co-founder and scientific director of the Hernia Days in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne.
Co-founder and scientific director of the three-day Hernia Compact Course - Young Surgery and the DHG Hernia School.
Visiting Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Asunción, Paraguay and Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.
Scientific director of numerous workshops on complex abdominal wall hernias.
Scientific focus
Development of minimally invasive techniques for extraperitoneal mesh implantation of abdominal wall and incisional hernias.
Treatment of complex Abdominal Wall Hernias - Introduction of Posterior Component Separation (m. transversus abdominis release -TAR) in Germany
Prevention and therapy of chronic pain in hernia surgery
Training and education in hernia surgery
Curriculum vitae
since 2021
Head Physician Hamburger Hernien Centrum (HHC) - Reference Center for Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery
since 2021
Head Physician of the department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery at the Helios Mariahilf Clinic Hamburg
since 2020
Vice Chairman of the Surgical Working Group Hernias of the DGAV
2019
Conference President of the Annual Congress of the European Hernia Society 2019 in Hamburg, Germany
since 2016
Board member of the European Hernia Society as secretary for teaching and training
since 2014
Chief Physician of the Department of General, Visceral and Hernia Surgery ATOS Klinik Fleetinsel Hamburg
2014 - 2020
President of the German Hernia Society (DHG)
since 2014
Board member of the German Hernia Society (DHG)
2012
Conference President of the German Hernia Society DHG 2012 (main topic Chronic Pain in Hernia Surgery)
since 2004
Participation in 13 humanitarian hernia missions in Africa and Latin America to care for people without means and train local specialists
2003 - 2021
Head Physician of the Department of Surgery at Wilhelmsburg Hospital Groß-Sand
1996 - 2003
Senior Physician for general, visceral and trauma surgery at Reinbek St. Adolf-Stift Hospital
1992
Doctorate at the University of Hamburg
1983 - 1989
Medical studies at the University of Hamburg
Memberships
German Hernia Society
European Hernia Society
American Hernia Society
International Endohernia Society (Founding member)
German Society for Surgery DGCH
German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV)
Section for Minimally Invasive Surgery (CAMIC) of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV)
Surgical Working Group Hernia Surgery of the DGAV (CAH)
Board Member Hernia Repair for the Underserved
Honorary member of the Argentine Hernia Society
Member of management committees of international journals
Editorial Board Member International Journal of Abdominal Wall and Hernia Surgery
International Advisory Board Member of Journal "Hernia"
