Dr Walter Weder is the resident thoracic surgeon at Privatklinik Bethanien. He is a world-renowned thoracic surgeon, who became the first surgeon in Switzerland to perform a lung transplant in 1992. He succeeded in solving the problem of sewing the airways together. At the time, almost 10 % of patients had complications or died because the suture did not hold. Through his research, Dr Weder developed a different technique.
His first VATS lobectomy followed in 1993, and in 1995 he performed the world’s first minimally invasive volume reduction surgery for emphysema. This lung disease is very common in heavy smokers. The lungs of these patients are too large and lose elasticity, making it difficult to inhale and exhale. Many years ago, Dr Weder developed a technique to reduce the lung to its normal size. This is one of his core specialisms and one of the reasons why he treats patients from all over the world. He also specialises in surgery to treat lung cancer or other malignancies in the chest.
Dr Weder has published several studies on advanced resection in lung cancer. In 2004, he performed the first mediastinal tumour resection and lobectomy with the Da Vinci® robot. This is a method that allows the surgeon to perform very precise surgery on the lungs or other organs in the chest in a three-dimensional view using small incisions.
