Dr med. Uwe Flötgen

Be it meniscus damage, cruciate ligament tears, patellar luxations, cartilage damage, Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen is very familiar with all these and other knee joint problems. He has been at the Orthopaedic Clinic of the Heinrich Braun Hospital since 2008, and has served as Head of Sports Orthopaedics since 2013. His profession is his passion, his second passion is sports. He is a highly committed team doctor at FSV Zwickau. Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen is also the right contact person for other sports injuries. He is still active in sports even in his free time, as a cyclist, running or climbing in the summer, and in all kinds of skiing in the winter. He is therefore also very familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of these injuries, some of which are very specific.

The knee, more precisely, the knee joint: The largest joint in the human body is subjected to a high degree of almost continuous stress. Whether running or climbing stairs, even sitting - the knee joint is stressed with every movement and even during rest phases. The fact that it generally works painlessly is thanks to a sophisticated system: Flexible connections create mobility, the femur, patella and tibia harmonise with each other - and the interaction of all joint components, bones, meniscus, cartilage, ligaments but also tendons and muscles ensure that the knee joint works "smoothly" as a rotational gliding joint.

If this system is disturbed, it quickly becomes complex - and then a real specialist is needed. Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen, head physician of the department of sports orthopaedics at the Heinrich Braun Clinic in Zwickau, has therefore focused on operations even on complicated knee injuries. However, his range of services also includes procedures on other joints, for example surgery on the ankle and hip joints.
Whenever possible, surgical interventions on the joints are performed arthroscopically, i.e. minimally invasively. However, open surgical procedures, which usually preserve the joints, are also used.

State-of-the-art treatment procedures - also in the laboratory

Dr Flötgen, MD, uses state-of-the-art medical procedures in his treatments. Cartilage injuries, possibly with additional bone defects, as well as osteochondrosis dissecans, a bone necrosis of a joint surface section in the knee, are treated by the experienced knee surgeon with the help of cartilage regenerative and repair procedures, if necessary with additional spongiosaplasty. In this case, the joint surface is reconstructed by means of a bone graft. This is followed by a so-called matrix-assisted autologous cartilage transplantation (MACT). The defect is covered with a carrier matrix. This contains cartilage cells that are taken in small quantities from the knee in an initial operation and multiplied under laboratory conditions. The cartilage cells obtained in this way are then placed in a three-dimensional carrier matrix, which is applied to the defect. In most cases, this step is even possible arthroscopically. The cartilage that these cells subsequently form is similar to articular cartilage. The new cartilage substance produced by the body can thus restore the functionality of the knee joint.

Cruciate ligament tears: Better care through experience

"In sports orthopaedics, we deal with a wide range of sports injuries and injuries due to overburdening. There are seasonal peaks, e.g. cruciate ligament injuries in winter from skiing and in summer from playing football," says Dr med Uwe Flötgen. Therefore, the surgical treatment of tears in the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments is one of the procedures that the sports-enthusiastic physician often performs. This is often done through cruciate ligament reconstruction, in which the torn cruciate ligament is replaced by the body's own tendons. Dr Flötgen is also very familiar with complicated revisions of cruciate ligament plastics. The decision as to which technique should be used for ligament replacement is always made taking into account the needs and requirements of the respective patient.

Certification as knee surgeon

Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen is certified as a knee surgeon by the German Knee Society. To obtain this certification, a surgeon must have a great deal of experience. Among other things, he must be able to provide evidence of more than 500 special knee operations, be a member of the specialist society and have completed a special course curriculum with classroom and online courses. The certification must be renewed every five years. Of course, this is no problem for a dedicated specialist like Dr Flötgen.

High priority: Cooperation with patients

Dr. Flötgen, who is a specialist in surgery and special trauma surgery as well as in orthopaedics and trauma surgery and holds the additional qualifications of sports medicine and chirotherapy, attaches great importance to planning treatment together with his patients. Not least because many of them are very active in sports and want to continue practising their sport as soon as possible even after straining or injuring the knee. Therefore, it is important to Dr. Flötgen that people with acute sports injuries can usually present themselves at his clinic at short notice. This head physician of the sports orthopaedics department also benefits from the fact that the Heinrich Braun Clinic in Zwickau is a highly modern, specialist care hospital that bundles competences and medical know-how at the highest level - in interdisciplinary treatment centres that always focus on the optimal care of patients in their interdisciplinary cooperation between the different departments. Here, we also think holistically - from the high-calibre medical care to the staff in the inpatient department, the nursing care taking into account the latest scientific findings and also the importance attached to special areas such as wound management or training in the movement concept by experienced and committed physiotherapists.

Versatile: Special knowledge in chirotherapy

Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen goes through the individual steps of treatment and rehabilitation in detail with his patients. Whenever possible, functional treatment takes a high priority, because surgery is not the only and best method on the road to recovery in every case. Through his advanced training in chirotherapy, Dr. med. Uwe Flötgen is also able to manually detect blockages and recommend suitable physiotherapeutic treatment.

A very detailed anamnesis and diagnosis is also carried out in the case of groin complaints (athlete's groin), as the causes can be very varied. This almost always leads to successful treatment of these often protracted complaints.

His patients also benefit from the close cooperation with the Clinic for Trauma Surgery in Zwickau: This means that sports injuries can also be treated in the D-Arzt procedure - in which case Dr Flötgen acts as a transit doctor. And that happens not only for knee injuries, but also for the shoulder, elbow or ankle and also the hip. Only on match days of the traditional club FSV Zwickau, which currently plays in the 3rd division, does the knee specialist dedicate his time to his club - and that is a matter truly dear to his heart. He does that with all his heart and soul, as his patients know of him.