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The Ophthalmology Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital offers integrated care to all those with conditions that affect eyes and eye attachments. We act as a national reference in various ophthalmological pathologies, attending patients from both Catalonia and the rest of Spain. This care work is complemented by important teaching and research activity, which allows us to remain at the forefront of our specialty.
The aim of the Ophthalmology Department is to put all the material and human resources at our disposal into improving the eye health and quality of life of our patients.
The Ophthalmology Department's activity is conducted at various locations, depending on the different care activities, all of which are coordinated and directed by Dr José García-Arumí, Head of Department:
In turn, the Department's care work is structured into different sections, corresponding to each of the ophthalmology sub-specialties. In order to be able to offer more specialised care, in the context of a tertiary level hospital, we have a large team of professionals who are experts in the different sub-specialties:
All the above sections interact with other departments or units at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in order to coordinate and agree on diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for patients who present pathologies involving different medical specialties. This is the case of the multi-disciplinary committees (Tumour Committee, Transplant Committee...), direct contact with other care services in specific cases (maxillofacial surgery, traumatology, plastic surgery, neurology, paediatric specialties, etc.), close contact with services involved in diagnostic (microbiology, pathological anatomy) or therapeutic (Blood and Tissue Bank) tasks and the participation of a doctor specialised in internal medicine in the tasks of diagnosis and treatment of ocular inflammatory processes (Dr Antonio Segura).
The Ophthalmology Department is a Teaching Unit of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). The academic chair is Dr José García-Arumí, Head of the Ophthalmology Department. In turn, several members of the Department are professors (Dr Tirso Alonso Alonso), associate professors or interns at the UAB.
The teaching activity of the Ophthalmology Department includes:
The protocolisation of clinical measures, patient follow-up and collecting the corresponding data has led to the publication of various works in high-prestige national and international journals and the participation in clinical trials and research studies on the most recent therapeutic techniques in the different sub-specialties.
The basic research group in Ophthalmology, made up of an interdisciplinary team of clinicians and basic researchers, focuses its activity on research into new therapies for the treatment of the main neurodegenerative diseases of the retina (such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa), ocular surface pathologies (dry eye syndrome, herpes keratitis and neurotrophic ulcers) and the repercussions at eye level of different systemic treatments.
The projects currently being conducted deal with studying different therapeutic strategies, such as cell therapy using stem cells, gene therapy for the expression of curative genes and pharmacological therapies with antiangiogenic factors and antioxidants. These research projects mainly involve basic research, conducted at the Ophthalmology Laboratory located at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), as well as the development of preclinical trials, using animal models for experimentation, which are conducted at the VHIR Animal Facility. All these products have led to multiple presentations and publications in high-impact journals.
The Neurology Department treats neurological patients, both in primary care centres and at our renowned hospital centre. We have a specialist stroke area (strokes with cerebral blood flow disorders) to treat patients in the acute phase.
The Neurology Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital is made up of five specialised units: the Neurovascular Unit, the Dementia Unit, the Epilepsy Unit, the Neuromuscular Unit and the Cephalea and Neurological Pain Unit.
We offer patients all the latest neurology resources, such as emergency neurological care by our expert on-call neurologists. We are home to super-specialist neurology units. We are responsible for quality in the neurological care provided, not only in the hospital, but throughout the entire health area where we are a reference centre.
We have links to the Faculty of Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and we are responsible for covering undergraduate and postgraduate neurological studies. The Department is accredited for teaching neurology, and we train resident medical interns specialising in neurology. We are a very active department in pursuing clinical and experimental research with a clear translational vocation to apply knowledge from basic research to the prevention and treatment of real clinical cases.
The Integrated Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit (UCCAA) at Vall d'Hebron - Sant Pau is a part of the Cardiology Department, and its mission is to provide multidisciplinary care for adolescent and adult patients living with a congenital heart disease, as well as teaching and carrying out research in this field.
The Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit (UCCAA) was set up at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital more than 40 years ago, and we have been providing paediatric care for congenital heart diseases ever since. This Unit is the result of a collaboration agreement between our Hospital and the University Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau, to bring together the effort, resources and experience of these two leading hospitals in the treatment of this disease.
Outpatient visits to the UCCAA Unit take place in the Outpatient Clinic of the Maternity and Children's Hospital, next to the Paediatric Cardiology Department, meaning we can group outpatient care for cardiology of congenital heart disease in a single area. This means that we can share work stations, databases and tools (the ECO 3D) and it makes the transfer and continuity of treatment simple, from paediatric age to adulthood, for what is a congenital and life-threatening disease.
Patients who require admission are directed to the General Hospital, and stay in the cardiology ward. Depending on their clinical circumstances, some of these adult patients with congenital heart disease must be admitted onto special wards:
In parallel with these services, there is also a clinic for reproductive counselling for women with congenital heart disease. This clinic is a part of the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit (UCCAA), carried out jointly with the Gynaecology Department at the Outpatient Clinic of the Maternity and Children's Hospital. There, a cardiologist and a gynaecologist/angiologist, experts in congenital heart disease, work together to analyse the patient depending on their individual clinical and heart disease condition and explore their chances of conceiving children. Their mission is to inform, evaluate and offer sexual health planning, discussing the reproductive possibilities of the patients living with congenital heart disease.
Since its creation, our Department has enjoyed significant quantitative and qualitative growth in the areas of patient care, teaching and research. Cancer is an increasingly common illness; we offer high-quality care linked to clinical and translational research, applying the knowledge of basic research to the prevention and treatment of clinical cases. This means we can see patients from outside our catchment area who can participate in clinical trials. We are a reference centre in all areas of clinical oncology.
These diseases are complex to diagnose and treat, making a multidisciplinary approach essential. That is why our Department works to incorporate a range of professional techniques and contributions to tackle all aspects of care and integrate them into the care process. This means we can improve the care process and ensure quality. Examples of this are our genetic counselling and high-risk illness prevention clinics.
In accordance with the analysis and forecasts included in the latest version of the Catalan Health Plan and the Oncology Master Plan, we must bring forward priority actions in the field of oncological disease in Catalonia. Vall d'Hebron University Hospital is especially equipped to offer a comprehensive Oncology Care Plan, with different services all working in coordination. This is possible thanks to our specialised departments such as Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Clinical Haematology, surgical specialties, medical specialties, Pathological Anatomy, Image Diagnostics and Primary Care. Our professional expertise and ability to work in collaboration are the key to fulfilling this mission.
This is why care for people suffering from oncology is structured into processes in place for all operations, with appropriate timing based on a holistic vision of the care process. At our Department, we incorporate everything these patients need in terms of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
We base this oncological care on three central pillars: our staff, equipment and clinical research. On the one hand, we guarantee the excellence of our staff through internal training programmes in the field of hospital care, as well as establishing collaboration and training exchanges with other renowned, prestigious centres. On the other hand, we offer the latest equipment and carry out clinical, translational and basic research.
We are working to incorporate primary care into the network of oncology treatment at the Hospital, as we believe holistic care in oncology requires incorporation and coordination of all the different healthcare areas involved in treating patients.
As mentioned previously, research is one of the key pillars of our Department, and we are present at the most prestigious international forums where future research and oncological care are discussed. We participate in Cancer Core Europe, the largest cancer platform in Europe, where our Department is one of just seven European departments present.
We have a biomedical research centre made up of scientists and doctors who work together to link basic science with clinical research: the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO). Our main purpose is to promote and develop excellence in research into oncological diseases.
The VHIO also works to increase our contribution to the development of new therapies that improve the treatment of cancer. Its goals also include modelling scientific practices in the clinic for the benefit of oncology patients, excellence in scientific research in the fields of basic, translational and clinical research, and scientific cooperation between national and international cancer research institutions. By promoting all activities related to cancer research, we contribute to improving the quality of life of our patients.
The Clinical Neurophysiology Department deals with the medical specialty covering the set of techniques for the study and evaluation of the physiological and pathological functions of the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system. It is based on the direct or indirect recording of bioelectrical and neurobiological phenomena.
Our Department has a long tradition of applying diagnostic techniques in the various fields of neurophysiology, and we provide services to patients from a large number of medical and surgical specialties, such as neurology, neurosurgery, traumatology, rehabilitation, pneumology, paediatrics, internal medicine, ENT, intensive care medicine, ophthalmology, urology and family medicine, etc.
The incorporation of new diagnostic techniques, ever greater complexity and advances in the area of knowledge have all furthered the Department’s specialisation in a range of areas of knowledge:
The main objectives of this Department are:
The mission of the Neurosurgery Department is to guarantee excellence in care, education and research, with an international outlook. We have a particular focus on the needs and preferences of patients with diseases of the nervous system that require surgical treatment.
At the Neurosurgery Department, we apply the most advanced technologies and a multidisciplinary approach in a context that allows us to train neurosurgeons with strong ethical and moral values. All this, as part of the public health system that is accessible to all citizens.
Our Department is divided into three physically separate care sections located in three areas of the Vall d'Hebron hospital complex: the General Hospital, the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital and the Maternity and Children's Hospital. Finally, the Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit, which integrates all of the Department’s translational research, complements these three care sections, applying the knowledge garnered from basic research to the prevention and treatment of clinical cases.
The General Hospital is home to most of the Neurosurgery Department’s activity, housing most of its human resources, patients, beds and financial resources. The team is made up of a chief clinician, seven specialist doctors and a Head of Department. Three of the doctors share their activities with the Maternity and Children's Hospital, and form the main group of physicians devoted to paediatric neurosurgery. The other doctors also collaborate on neuropaediatric care, both with emergency care and low-prevalence pathologies, in which our Department is super-specialized. Adult patients are admitted here who have had cranioencephalic trauma and a programmed pathology of the rachis (spine).
The care offered by the Neurosurgery Department covers three fundamental aspects: general neurosurgery (adult patients), neurotraumatology and paediatric neurosurgery. Despite this differentiation, we are a cross-cutting department that addresses the following diseases:
The educational mission of any neurosurgery department at a high-tech hospital does not end with the training of undergraduate students and specialised training, but rather we are devoted to continuing training of all doctors with links to neurosurgery.
Our Department organises several clinical sessions, as well as annual doctoral courses and different continuing education programmes aimed not only at residents and neurosurgeons in the Department, but also specialists in intensive care, anaesthesia and, in some cases, nursing staff. On the other hand, most of our sessions offer a considerable number of continuing education credits.
The training programme for residents at the Neurosurgery Department includes a general educational programme, a rotation scheme, a plan detailing the objectives and surgical skills that must be acquired, the obligation to comply with the "Resident’s Logbook" and an appropriate evaluation system.
One essential aspect that is often overlooked is the importance of the role of nursing staff in neurosurgical care. We are keenly aware of this, and for years now the neurosurgery nursing staff at the General Hospital and the Neurotraumatology ICU have been integrated in the educational activities of the Department. Also, a symposium specific to nursing is included in the International Symposium on the Monitoring of Intracranial Pressure and Cerebral Haemodynamics that is celebrated biannually. The management of this event, as well as the contents and speakers chosen, falls to the nursing staff, who have total autonomy in organising their Symposium.
The Nephrology Department offers comprehensive care for people with various kidney diseases. We offer a peritoneal dialysis programme and a haemodialysis service, in which different blood cleansing techniques are applied. Our transplant programme is one of the most active in the country.
At the Nephrology Department we have a highly qualified team that is well coordinated with other Hospital and primary care services to offer a comprehensive approach to patients with kidney disease, ranging from prevention and early detection to treatment of the disease.
We admit 1,000 patients annually, hold 15,000 consultations and have a peritoneal dialysis programme, a haemodialysis unit, extracorporeal cleansing techniques, and in addition over the last year we carried out 130 kidney transplants.
We are a Reference Centre of the Spanish National Health System (CSUR) in complex glomerular diseases.
Our research is based on patient follow-up and the study of mechanisms and markers of the prognosis for different kidney diseases as reflected in various publications. The Department participates actively in international clinical trials.
This includes the teaching of undergraduates and postgraduates, training nephrology students and continuing education.
At the Internal Medicine Department, we offer comprehensive internal medicine care to adult patients in our region, both at the Hospital and in Primary Care. We are a leading point of reference in both Catalonia and Spain in systemic autoimmune diseases. In addition, the Ageing and Chronic Patient Section covers Geriatrics and coordinates and collaborates with social-healthcare provision throughout the region.
The Internal Medicine Department is the cornerstone of medical care at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. It is key in providing support to the other medical and surgical departments and the Accident and Emergency Department.
Systemic autoimmune diseases are the main specialty of the Department. We have more than 30 years’ experience in these illnesses and are a leading centre in both Catalonia and Spain as a whole. In terms of care, teaching and research our professionals are leaders in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatopolimyositis, systemic vasculitis, Sjögren's syndrome and Behçet's disease. We have a multidisciplinary team of professionals offering expert, personalised care for patients with these diseases, both in diagnosis and in treatment and subsequent follow-up at the Outpatient Clinic. We also offer support to the Obstetrics Department in the management of pregnancy for women with these diseases and with primary antiphospholipid syndrome.
The Vascular Risk Unit is a leading point of reference in the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia and arteriosclerosis and their complications, and collaborates with all the other hospital departments involved in the management of these patients.
The Ageing and Chronic Patient Section is made up of the Geriatrics Unit of the General Hospital and the Orthopaedics Unit of the Hospital of Traumatology. This Section, in collaboration with the Primary Care Section, has recently inaugurated a new centre for chronic care (Chronicity Integral Support Team, or ESIC) that is located in the Casernes building in Sant Andreu, whose mission it is to bring the hospital expertise closer to the patients, thus avoiding unnecessary hospital trips and hospitalisation. This pioneering section is but the start of a whole network of such centres in the city of Barcelona and surrounding areas.
The Ageing Division coordinates and collaborates with centres for subacute patients and social-health centres in our region, in particular with the Pere Virgili Health Park.
The ultimate goal of our entire organisation is to ensure that the patient is at the heart of every action taken, to ensure continued care both in Primary Care and in our Hospital, as well as after the patient has been discharged.
The Departmental Research Unit, which is part of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), brings together basic research projects in immunology, systemic autoimmune diseases and ageing from the various Departmental teams, and participates in national and international clinical trials, and projects with public and private funding.
In terms of teaching, it is the mission of the Internal Medicine Department to help train doctors at the Vall d'Hebron Teaching Unit of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, to train residents in internal medicine and geriatrics and to train Postgraduate and continuing education students in systemic autoimmune diseases and in clinical gerontology.
We have received recognition such as the Prize for Professional Excellence, awarded by the Barcelona College of Physicians (COMB) in 2012, and the TOP 20 IASIST award 2009, a Spanish award for the best Pneumology Department in Spain in the area of Respiratory and Thoracic Surgery.
At the Radiation Oncology Department, our goals are to help improve all aspects related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, teaching and research of cancer. We are a central plank in organising care for patients with cancer, especially with regard to radiation oncology. Working in multidisciplinary teams helps improve the healing rates of our patients, and makes us a reference department across Spain.
We have the most advanced technology in Europe. Techniques such as image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) mean we can provide more precise treatments by adapting the dose to the shape of the tumour to better protect healthy tissue.
These advances are especially relevant for paediatric radiation therapy, since precision strategies are even more important in children. We treat 80% of children in Catalonia, as well as handling complex cases from elsewhere in Spain.
Technological development has allowed us to improve the whole process of planning and treatment using radiation.
The Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Programme (IMRT) and the Stereotactic Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy Programme (SRS) were both started at the Hospital's Radiation Oncology Department in 2008. Initially, IMRT was used to treat prostate tumours, and later for the treatment of cancer of the breast, head and neck, and paediatric tumours. It is now also used in gynaecological and digestive tumours, and we are able to apply it in all cases where it might represent a significant improvement in treatment.
We are the centre that performs most treatments using intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in Catalonia for genitourinary pathologies, tumours in the head, neck and breast neoplasias, where advanced technology has been fully integrated to improve care.
Our dedication to offering quality and safety in care has made us pioneers, as we have established various internal control committees, as well as developing our own protocols for image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). We are a young, dynamic team that is part of a range of scientific organisations, both nationally and internationally.
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