FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Contact us via the contact form on the homepage, by e-mail or phone. As a first step, we will send you a questionnaire. Based on the information you provide, Professor Possover can assess in advance whether we are the appropriate specialist for you and whether an appointment is recommended. 

We usually find a suitable appointment together in 4-8 weeks. If an earlier appointment becomes available, we will be happy to offer it to you.

The neuropelveology consultation cannot be billed directly by Swiss or international health insurance companies, as there are no corresponding and comprehensive tariffs (Tarmed or European basic tariff). If Professor Possover recommends a neuropelveology consultation based on your complaints, we can send you a flat-rate estimate. This will allow you to clarify in advance a reimbursement of the costs directly with your insurance.

Professor Possover speaks English, German and French. You can bring an accompanying person to the appointment to translate for you. As an additional option, we can book an external interpreter for your consultation. We will send you information on interpreter costs upon request. Please let us know in advance for the organization.

A referral is not a prerequisite from our side for making an appointment. If Professor Possover requires any additional information, we will of course let you know. Please note that depending on your insurance model, your insurance provider may require that you be assigned to see a specialist. Your insurance provider can give you more specific information about this.

To make a diagnosis, Professor Possover relies heavily on his clinical examinations in the consultation. Only on the basis of the diagnosis can treatment options be discussed. 
Tele- or video-consultations do not allow this and are therefore not offered.

Please take the following documents with you, if available:
- OR report(s), with image documentation if possible.
- Medical reports on pain management (nerve blocks, neuromodulator, etc.) 
- Pelvic MRI (< 1 year)
Generally, no additional examinations need to be performed prior to your appointment.
If additional examinations are to be performed by other specialists after your appointment, Professor Possover will explain this to you in detail with the appropriate question for the examination. 

Yes, the building and our Center are wheelchair accessible.

Our practice has only one parking space available. Please let us know in advance if you plan to arrive by car. Preferably use the parking buildings in Zurich. The Feldegg parking building is only a 7-minute walk from our practice.

You will receive a lot of information and it is even recommended to bring an accompanying person.

Professor Possover will take the time necessary to answer your questions during your neuropelveology consultation. 
Please read the consultation report and other documents you have received from Professor Possover carefully. These documents contain all information about consultation, diagnosis and indicated therapy.
If you still have questions, please send us the specific question by e-mail and we will get back to you after consulting with Professor Possover. 

Professor Possover performs surgeries as an attending physician at the Pyramide Clinic in Zurich. The Pyramide Clinic is a private clinic and is located right next to our practice and directly next to the lake.

Possover International Medical Center AG has no direct contracts with insurances. Whether your insurance will contribute to the costs depends on your insurance contract. In case of insufficient coverage, we can provide you with a detailed cost estimate.

The cost of the surgery depends on the complexity of the procedure performed. A cost estimate can only be provided after the consultation has taken place.

The Pyramid Clinic cooperates with most Swiss insurance companies and there are tariffed costs for the hospital, anesthesia and histopathological examinations. In the case of foreign or international insurances, a cost estimate will also be provided.

The ISON (International Society of Neuropelveology), or the certification institute, does not provide a list of certified neuropelveologists and does not act as an intermediary. It is up to the certified neuropelveologists themselves to communicate the certification they have obtained, be it via their homepage, social media channels, or similar.

Minimally invasive surgery offers numerous advantages over conventional open surgery:
- Shorter hospital stay with less cost
- Less pain, scarring and adhesions
- Reduced risk of wound infections
- Less blood loss and therefore fewer blood transfusions
- Faster recovery and achievement of a normal condition
- Better preservation of the immune system

The genital organs are surrounded by the bladder, ureters, intestines and large vessels, as well as the pelvic nerves. Injuries to these organs can occur, however, the risk is very low in our clinic. If an organ injury occurs during surgery, it will of course be treated immediately. If deemed necessary, surgeons from other specialties are on call to assist with care. Most injuries are noticed during surgery and can then be successfully treated. If an injury goes unnoticed, the patient will develop symptoms as it progresses, whether immediately afterward to several weeks postoperatively.

To minimize the risk of infection, all patients receive intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis approximately 30 minutes prior to surgery. Depending on the type of surgery, antibiotic therapy may be extended to the outpatient setting.

Blood transfusions are very rare. Most of the surgeries we perform involve the pelvic nerves, and in this case a bloodless dissection is a top priority. For this reason, we are very careful to avoid or minimize intraoperative blood loss. Depending on the preoperative hemoglobin levels, a blood transfusion may be necessary in the course, also to promote recovery accordingly. In some cases, an autologous blood donation can be made if the general conditions do not stand in the way of this.

General anesthesia has its own risks, about which you will be informed by an anesthesiologist before the operation, if desired. Other surgical risks will be discussed by your surgeon before the operation, depending on your medical history, the examination and, above all, the type of operation planned.

The length of hospital stay depends on the particular surgery. Shoulder and chest pain are common after laparoscopy and should decrease after two to three days. Recovery is usually rapid and most patients are able to return to normal activities, including work, after two to three weeks.

After the inpatient stay, most patients stay in a hotel for 2-3 nights as a precaution before they start their return journey. It is definitely not recommended to stay too long after pelvic nerve surgery, as pain will return after a few days/weeks. 
We can send you a list of hotels in the area. Just let us know.

Drink enough fluids. Due to fasting and laxative measures, some dehydration sets in, so you should drink up to 3.5 liters daily at the beginning. Start with liquid food. As soon as winds come off, you can start on a light diet; if this is also well tolerated, you can return to your regular eating habits.

Some of the wounds resulting from the surgery are sutured with absorbable sutures. These types of sutures dissolve on their own. In addition, steri-strips and plasters are used.
These should be left in place for a maximum of one week, unless they become soaked or bloody. If the Steri Strips come off on their own, it is not a problem. Try to keep all wounds clean and dry if possible. After showering, a hair dryer (on low setting) can be used to completely dry the abdomen.

Constipation is common after surgery, it may take 3 to 7 days for digestion to return to normal. If winds are already coming off, a gentle laxative can also be used. Try to reduce pain medications if possible. If any problems occur, contact us.

Professor Possover began his medical studies at the age of 15 and graduated at 22. He is a pioneer of minimally invasive gynecological surgery (especially for malignant diseases and deep infiltrating endometriosis), he has been operating predominantly laparoscopically since the early 1990s and in doing so has been able to further develop many conventional surgical techniques through laparoscopy. He introduced nerve-sparing laparoscopic gynecology and in recent years developed neuropelveology as an independent specialty.
During his career to date, Professor Possover has collaborated with numerous authorities in the field of operative laparoscopy and oncology and has incorporated this experience into his surgical skills.

Professor Possover is one of the leading pioneers in the field of laparoscopic surgery, specializing in nerve-sparing surgical procedures and laparoscopic therapy for deep infiltrating endometriosis, the treatment of pelvic nerves. He has treated thousands of patients with endometriosis. As an ambassador for the World Endometriosis Society and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound), he continues to disseminate current knowledge about endometriosis. He is the Director of the Level 3 European Certified Endometriosis Center in Zurich, located at Possover Medical Center. (www.endometriosiszentrum-zuerich.ch)

Professor Possover is one of the most experienced surgeons in gynecological oncological laparoscopy. In addition, he learned the technique of vaginal radical hysterectomy (according to Schauta-Stöckel) and radical trachelectomy from Professor Dargent in Lyon. Due to his previous experience in cardiovascular surgery, he was one of the first surgeons to perform laparoscopic paraaortic and pelvic lymphadenectomies and radical trachelectomies in Germany in the early 1990s. He received his teaching license at the University of Jena with the topic: laparoscopic treatment of cervical carcinoma: development and establishment of a new method and developed the laparoscopically assisted nerve-sparing radical vaginal hysterectomy, which was named after him. Due to his training in cardiovascular surgery, he has in-depth knowledge of open radical abdominal surgery, which is required for advanced ovarian or cervical carcinoma (exenteration). He is also proficient in the technique of both urological (neobladder) and genital (neovagina) reconstruction. He has treated thousands of patients with gynecological cancers. Currently, he is increasingly advocating a new method of radical trachelectomy, which allows young women (in the case of a tumor less than two centimeters in diameter) to preserve their ability to bear children. Over the past twenty years, he has trained colleagues worldwide in the minimally invasive treatment of malignant gynecological diseases.

As the founder of neuropelveology, Professor Possover is the worldwide pioneer in this new field. This very young part of human medicine is already recognized as a university teaching subject at the University in Aarhus, Denmark. The development is based on a large number of patients suffering from pelvic pain and disorders of the pelvic organs without an existing specialty dealing with them. Usually these patients are treated symptomatically by pain therapists without treating the cause. However, until now, neither neurologists nor neurosurgeons have been able to reach the pelvic nerves. Laparoscopy, as a minimally invasive, safe procedure, opens up unprecedented access to the pelvic nerves and thus represents the basis of neuropelveological treatment. Nerves can be examined in this way and, if necessary, treated directly. Therapy options include neurolysis, i.e. detaching the nerve from adhesions, and the insertion of a neuroprosthesis, which allows the pelvic organs to regain their function or reduces pain. In addition, neurostimulation of the pelvic nerves can be used for
paraplegics and children with spina bifida in regaining nerve function and in some cases cause their growth. The first step as a gynecologist to learn neuropelveology is to acquire a sound neurological knowledge of the pelvic nerves in order to make an accurate and individual diagnosis as the basis for further treatment. Medical, physiological, psychological and surgical treatments are combined to provide the best possible therapy. Knowledge of pain management, pelvic neuroanatomy, neurourology and techniques of laparoscopic neurosurgery are essential.