Prof. Dr. Christopher Bohr

It was something special for Prof. Dr. Christopher Bohr when he took over the management of the Clinic for Otolaryngology at the University Hospital Regensburg (UKR) in 2017. He achieved something rare: his first application for a professorship was successful – and at just 43 years old! And then also in his hometown of Regensburg. A goal that cannot be planned, despite all professional expertise and utmost commitment – as he himself says, the necessary bit of luck was also involved.

Top medicine in Regensburg

Becoming a doctor was an early goal for Prof. Dr. Christopher Bohr. At the age of six, he was allowed to watch in the operating room as a friend who was a chief physician stitched the injured leg of his best friend. "The atmosphere immediately captivated me. The feeling of making something healthy again never let me go." Through an aesthetic procedure he saw during his internship at the Clinic for Otolaryngology in Erlangen – a patient received a new nose after tumor surgery reconstructed by the doctor who was later to become his doctoral advisor – the specialty was hinted at. By the end of his studies, when the first cochlear implants were being used in Germany, which had fascinated him as a student, the decision was made: "The idea of overcoming deafness through technology was and is incredibly fascinating. I realized: This is what I want to do."

Since such procedures are only possible if you work in a highly specialized clinic, the path was predetermined. And it was quite straightforward. After the then mandatory period as an intern doctor, followed by licensure in 2004 and a doctorate a year later, he passed the specialist exam for the field of otolaryngology in 2008 and acquired the specialist certification in phoniatrics and pediatric audiology five years later. Subsequent international placements led him to, for example, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester/USA. After his habilitation, he received a professorship in Erlangen at the age of 40. There, he simultaneously became head of the department of phoniatrics and pediatric audiology. Just three years later, he became a chair holder for the department of otolaryngology and director of the clinic and polyclinic of the same department at the University Hospital Regensburg.

The Regensburg ENT Clinic covers the entire field – from tumor surgery, plastic reconstructions, hearing implants to tinnitus, nasal and sinus surgeries, voice and swallowing diagnostics, thyroid diseases, to the treatment of complex sleep disorders. With 57 beds, around 20,000 patients per year, and about 4,000 procedures, it is one of the smaller university hospitals in Germany – which is a clear advantage for the director: “We are big enough for top-level medicine, but small enough to remain personal.”

Learning to hear

Among Prof. Dr. Bohr's specialties is – and here we come full circle – the cochlear implant. It is a special hearing prosthesis that children and adults with severe hearing loss or deafness can use to hear via electrodes implanted in the inner ear and a speech processor behind the ear. Sounds simple but needs to be learned. And this is where another unique feature of the UKR comes into play: its own rehabilitation center in Straubing, where patients learn to hear with the implant on an outpatient basis in about two weeks. “Here we have the great advantage because the rehabilitation is in one hand – surgery and aftercare interlock seamlessly,” the doctor is pleased. And he sees a lot of development potential in the already sophisticated system. He can imagine, for example, that signal stimulation in the near future will no longer take place via an electrical impulse, but via a light impulse. And also AI will be able to provide more differentiated solutions for information transfer to patients.

Hearing disorders, even if they are minor, should be corrected as quickly as possible, advises Prof. Dr. Bohr. Especially in the Age – because they have been proven to contribute to the progression of dementia, as people can no longer actively participate in daily life due to poorer hearing and increasingly isolate themselves socially.

Spread smiles

Another special competence of Prof. Dr. Bohr is the reconstruction of the facial nerve (nervus facialis). Damage that occurs after tumors, injuries, inflammation, or a stroke can lead to paralysis and loss of facial expressions (facial palsy). If the nerve can no longer be activated otherwise, a special nerve-muscle transplant from the thigh is used in Regensburg. “This enables the patient to perform movements again – up to smiling.” This highly specialized technique is mastered by only a few centers in Germany. The clinic also maintains close cooperation with leading US clinics in this field.

Facilitate nasal breathing

Prof. Dr. Bohr also has recognized expertise in nasal and paranasal sinus surgery – an area that is particularly significant due to the anatomical proximity to Eye and Brain requires a lot of experience and a delicate touch. This includes, for example, the correction of nasal septum deviations or turbinates, but also of constrictions caused by sinus infections. Both can significantly impair nasal breathing And because the environment is so delicate, the most modern, navigation-assisted procedures are used here. "Because you can always see exactly where you are, they increase safety and are also particularly gentle," says the expert.

Improve sleep

Another focus of the clinic is the treatment of sleep apnea. The muscles relax so much in deep sleep that the tongue slides back and blocks the airway – leading to breathing interruptions. The Regensburg ENT clinic offers an innovative therapy here: the tongue pacemaker. "It is connected to the tongue nerves that move the tongue forward. Whenever the patient inhales, the pacemaker sends a signal and the tongue is moved out of the airway so that the patients can breathe freely again," explains Bohr. A real, albeit expensive, alternative to the sleep apnea mask as the gold standard. Unfortunately, the costs are only covered by the insurance companies if the conventional method has been proven not to work.

His claim is to offer all patients modern diagnostics, surgical excellence, and innovative therapy methods through a close integration of healthcare, research, and teaching in order to improve their quality of life sustainably. Because the human being is always at the center. He and his team give everything for that. He also has the pace and endurance for it – as an enthusiastic road cyclist, he sometimes rides the Arber Cycling Marathon in his limited free time. What makes him happy? "The best moments are when a patient who couldn't hear before suddenly participates in life again – or when someone smiles for the first time after facial nerve reconstruction," says Prof. Dr. Bohr. "These are the moments I love this profession for." And in which he knows for sure that he would do everything exactly the same again – even though the path to top medicine was intense and demanding.