Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU

University Medical Centre Eppendorf, University of Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany

Margit M. Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, is Director of the Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany. Dr. Fisch’s clinical and research interest includes reconstructive urology, especially urethral reconstruction and urinary diversion. She is an internationally renowned expert with a special focus on reconstructive urology, especially urethral reconstruction, as well as pediatric urology.

Dr. Fisch earned her medical degree and completed a practical year, with an emphasis in the epidemiology of renal cell carcinomas, at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. She then completed specialist training at the Clinique St. Thérèse in Luxembourg, Germany. Dr. Fisch completed more specialist training at the Urological University Clinic in Mainz, Germany. She subsequently served as a research assistant on the topic of optimization of ureterosigmoidostomy and development of the sigmoid colon pouch at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

Dr. Fisch was the first woman to head a urological clinic in Germany as chief physician, the first female professor of urology in Germany, and the first woman to head the German Society of Urology. In coordination with the Federal Association of Affiliated Physicians, Dr. Fisch established a model project for training specialists, which supplements clinical training with experience in the private practice sector. She also helped establish the Working Group of Women Urologists of the German Society of Urology. She is an active member of many associations, including the Association of North German Urologists, the Professional Association of German Urologists, the German-Japanese Society, the Society of Women in Urology, the European Society of Paediatric Urology, the Panafrican Association of Urology, and the European Association of Urology. Dr. Fisch has authored and co-authored over 300 publications in her field and has been featured in prestigious medical journals.

Talks by Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU

Bulbar Urethroplasty: What the Patient Should Know about Complications

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU | Aug 2025

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, explores informing patients before urethroplasty, various surgical techniques, and possible complications.

Mechanism of Urethral Injury in Children and Anatomical Limitations for Urethral Reconstruction

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU | May 2025

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, explores urethral stricture disease in children, emphasizing differences compared to adults.

Trends of Urinary Diversion: Declining Popularity of Continent Diversion

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU | Oct 2024

Margit M. Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, discusses the evolving trends in urinary diversion, emphasizing the declining popularity of continent diversion techniques. She analyzes the factors contributing to this shift, citing advancements in surgical techniques, patient outcomes, and the growing preference for less complex procedures.

She delves into the challenges associated with continent diversions, including the higher risk of complications, the need for patient adherence to catheterization, and the potential for long-term issues such as stenosis or pouch-related problems.

Fisch questions the quality of recent data on continent diversion’s effectiveness and underscores the importance of ongoing research and innovation. She encourages urologists to stay informed and carefully consider evolving evidence when planning surgical strategies for urinary diversion.

The Artificial Urinary Sphincter in Complex Situations

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU | Jul 2024

Margit M. Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, discusses the use of artificial urinary sphincters for the management of complex male Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) cases. She begins with a review of the body of data supporting the success rates of artificial urinary sphincters in straightforward cases.

Dr. Fisch then addresses the complications and their impact on the success of artificial urinary sphincter implantation, including:

Comorbidities
Post-Irradiation Status
Post-Urethroplasty Status
Reimplantation
Use of Transcorporal Cuff

For each of these complications, Dr. Fisch demonstrates strategies and best practices for minimizing their impact on surgical and patient outcomes.

Ureterocutaneostomy: A Valuable Option for Urinary Diversion in the Elderly Patient?

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU | Aug 2020

Margit Fisch, MD, FEAPU, FEBU, Director and Chair of the Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, discusses the value of ureterocutaneostomy as a urinary diversion technique for the increasing number of older, sicker patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Dr. Fisch explains that, compared with other urinary diversions, ureterocutaneostomy is a simpler, shorter procedure with no significant quality of life differences. She then summarizes the findings of a cystectomy series, which showed that even though patients who had undergone ureterocutaneostomy were older, more likely to have comorbidities, and more likely to have had prior pelvic/abdominal surgeries and irradiation compared with patients who had received ilial/colonic conduit or continent diversion, they had the shortest surgeries and hospital stays during cystectomy, as well as no difference in 30-day complication rate. The benefits of ureterocutaneostomy are further corroborated by a study which compared ureterocutaneostomy to urinary diversion with use of bowel, and found that ureterocutaneostomy patients had shorter operating room time, shorter time in the ICU, and fewer serious complications, although they did experience higher long-term morbidity, probably because of comorbidities. Dr. Fisch notes that ureterocutaneostomy has late complications such as abscess formation, ureteral necrosis, stoma stenosis, and pyelonephritis, but concludes that conduits are no better in this area, and that the benefits of ureterocutaneostomy make it a valuable and useful diversion in elderly patients.