Prof. Dr. Dr. Rainer Schmelzle

Prof. Dr. Dr. Rainer Schmelzle is one of Germany’s most renowned oral and maxillofacial surgeons. His particular expertise lies in complex tumor surgery as well as plastic and reconstructive surgery of the head and neck.

Following his clinical and academic work at the University of Tübingen from 1970 to 1987, he was appointed to the Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in 1987 and assumed leadership of the Nordwestdeutsche Kieferklinik. He served as its Director from 1987 to 2010. Under his leadership, the department developed into one of Germany’s leading university centers in the field, achieving an international reputation.

His principal clinical and scientific areas of expertise include complex head and neck tumor surgery, plastic and reconstructive facial surgery, microsurgical tissue transplantation, reconstruction using bone, skin and cartilage grafts, and complex craniofacial surgery. Further areas of expertise include transoral approaches to the skull base and upper cervical spine as well as intraoperative imaging and surgical navigation.

Prof. Schmelzle has received numerous distinctions for his clinical and scientific achievements, including the Wassmund Prize of the German Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the Karl Schuchardt Medal in recognition of his lifetime achievements in plastic and reconstructive surgery.