After 2 1/2 years of interdisciplinary and interprofessional preparation, the Trauma Surgery Department of the MHH has been certified as a DGU® Trauma Center for the Elderly. This has created a framework for the care of very old patients with traumatic injuries, which has already led to significant improvements.
The further development of this geriatric trauma center will remain a constant challenge, taking into account demographic conditions and the framework conditions of the healthcare system.

The Institute of General Medicine and Palliative Medicine and the Center for Mental Health at the MHH cooperate with the Department of Trauma Surgery by providing geriatric expertise during joint ward rounds at the Geriatric Trauma Center (ATZ DGU®).

Geriatric traumatology is still a relatively new branch of trauma surgery.

It is a specialization that deals with fractures that are very common in old age, regardless of the body region, e.g. fractures close to the hip joint, vertebral fractures, pelvic fractures, fractures of the upper arm close to the body.

These fractures are of particular importance because old age is often associated with muscle loss and osteoporosis, which, in addition to other risk factors, leads to an increased risk of falling and to a particular susceptibility of the bone to fracture.
In addition, the deterioration in general health due to secondary illnesses and the patient's increasing frailty reduce the body's tolerance to the accident itself, to any necessary surgical interventions and to general or intervention-specific complications.

This increases the risk of complications and a remaining limited mobility, possibly resulting in a need for care and a loss of independence.

Geriatric traumatology attempts to take all these aspects into account with a holistic concept that considers aspects of therapy and rehabilitation as well as the prevention of further accidents/fractures.
The actual possibilities of rehabilitation depend very much on the individual circumstances of each patient. However, it has now become clear that interdisciplinary and interprofessional treatment in the sense of joint management of acute injuries by trauma surgeons and geriatric internists (so-called "orthogeriatric co-management") is clearly superior to purely trauma surgery therapy with regard to the critical endpoints of treatment (complication and mortality rate / functional outcome / maintenance of independence).
The establishment of such co-management is an extremely complex project due to the high level of coordination and personnel required and the lack of separate reimbursement from insurance companies, among other things, and can only be carried out step by step while at the same time communicating the underlying fundamental considerations to all those involved.

At the MHH, we have begun to take this complex task into account by endeavoring to create a meaningful network with other Clinical Departments in the Hannover region interested in this area by means of a FORUM on Geriatric Traumatology. Interested parties are welcome to attend the meetings at any time. For further information, please contact Dr. L. Herold.