University Digestive Health Care Center Basel – Clarunis, Switzerland is the joint competence centre of Claraspital and the Universitätsspital for all patients in need of abdominal treatment. Clarunis combines the specialist knowledge, research activity and number of patients treated of both hospitals to further increase and enhance the quality of diagnosis and treatment. At Clarunis, specialist doctors for gastroenterology and abdominal surgery, specialist nursing staff (endoscopy, stomal advice, etc.) and the employees of the case management/medical secretariats engage in very close and interdepartmental cooperation with the specialists and nursing staff of both parent hospitals.

Clarunis provides abdominal surgery and gastroenterological basic care at both of its locations, Claraspital and Basel University Hospital. Clarunis performs highly specialised operations, where it has been scientifically proven that hospitals and surgeons who frequently conduct these operations have a lower complication rate and better long-term results, at the location with greater experience.
 
Highly specialised abdominal surgery includes:

• Esophagectomy in the case of oesophageal cancer
• Partial or complete pancreatectomy in the case of carcinoma/inflammation
• Partial or complete removal of the rectum, especially in the case of tumours
• Operations on the liver to remove tumours or metastases
• Complex bariatric operations for morbid obesity

Highly specialised oesophageal, rectal and bariatric operations occur at Claraspital while highly specialised renal surgery takes place at Basel University Hospital. Pancreatic resections are performed primarily at Claraspital; complex operations, such as those involving vessel resection (involving vascular surgery), cases that are not safely-operable, and operations on patients who cannot be moved for health reasons, are primarily performed at Universitätsspital.