New director at UKB clinic of gynecology and obstetrics

Brandenburg an der Havel, 14 December 2023

47 years of age, fluent in five languages, an international background and a wealth of medical expertise – so the short profile of Prof. Dr. Svetlana Tchaikovski. In November she took charge of the clinic of gynecology and obstetrics at the Brandenburg/Havel university hospital. Born in Belarus, she studied medicine in Grodno and obtained a doctorate in Maastricht/Netherlands in 2009. The range of her language skills comprises Belarusian, Russian, Dutch, German and English. Her last position was vice director at the Magdeburg university clinic for gynecology, obstetrics and reproductive medicine. Svetlana Tchaikovski is married and has a son. The family moved to Brandenburg/Havel last November.

She accepted the appointment to Brandenburg with pleasure as a chance to “put her own ideas into practice”, as a researcher and holder of an MHB professorship. For several years she has been exploring effects of interventions like hormone treatment or chemotherapy on blood coagulation in female patients. Coagulation levels provide evidence on the risk of thrombosis.

The new clinic director has the declared objective of establishing a local center to treat endometriosis. In women suffering from this disorder, uterine lining tissue grows outside the womb. This proliferation of endometrial cells is benign but very painful for affected patients. For some it takes years to be diagnosed with endometriosis. Svetlana Tchaikovski has comprehensive experience with the disorder, its diagnosis and treatment. From 2018 she directed a clinical-scientific endometriosis center at the RWTH Aachen university hospital, and shortly after that was actively involved in establishing a similar center in Magdeburg.

She believes some persuasion is required in Germany to highlight the far-reaching problems involved in the disorder which affects one in ten women of reproductive age, that is between 15 and 49. France even has a nationwide strategy to cope with endometriosis, whereas in Germany it is still difficult to get funding for pertinent research.

Svetlana Tchaikovski is specialized in gynecology and obstetrics, with a focus on special obstetrics and perinatal medicine as well as gynecological oncology. She plans to establish new treatment and surgery methods for cancer therapy at the university hospital, with emphasis on minimally invasive surgery to ensure swiftest possible recovery after interventions. The ultramodern robotic surgical system Da Vinci will be employed for cancer surgery and for benign gynecological disorders such as uterine fibroids or endometriosis. Since the beginning of this year, surgeons at the university hospital have used the system for keyhole procedures.