“Nothing is impossible” for Asst. Prof. Dr. Ermis

By Stefanie Liedtke

In April, the new gynecology clinic at the Rotkreuz-Kliniken opened. The chief physician is Asst. Prof. Dr. Resmiye Ermis. The 43-year-old specializes in endoscopic procedures.

Nothing is too thick for Asst. Prof. Dr. Resmiye Ermis. And no adhesions are too extensive either. “For benign findings, laparoscopy rarely has limits,” says the 43-year-old. “You can even operate around the corner – it just takes half an hour longer sometimes.”

Asst. Prof. Dr. Ermis knows what she is talking about. The chief physician of the new gynecology department at the Frankfurt Rotkreuz-Kliniken is among the best in her field when it comes to minimally invasive procedures. She can pin the “MIC III” award to the collar of her white coat – this seal of quality is awarded by the Working Group for Gynecological Endoscopy only to select physicians. In the Rhein-Main area, only two colleagues have Ermis’ status, nationwide, a few dozen.

Only once, says Ermis, did she swap the endoscope for the scalpel because she could not proceed with laparoscopy. “I generally find it hard to open the abdomen if it can be avoided, because I know how bad the pain is.”

That she would one day become an endoscopy specialist was not planned. “During my studies, I didn’t realize that operating would fascinate me so much; otherwise, I might have become a surgeon or a cosmetic surgeon.” She chose gynecology back then “because it’s a very varied field that offers all possibilities.” Including the opportunity to operate.

She learned endoscopy in 2006 in Gronau near the Dutch border, at a time when some still dismissed operating via laparoscopy as nonsense. “No one suspected back then that this would one day take such a high position in surgery,” she recalls. “I was simply lucky that my boss at the time was already very skilled in endoscopy.”

Four older brothers

Ermis was born in Turkey; her family comes from the Black Sea region. At one and a half years old, she came to Germany and grew up in the Ruhr area as the sister of four older brothers. “That’s where I learned to assert myself.” Her medical studies took the young woman to Halle an der Saale, later to Marburg. Via stations in Baden-Württemberg, Gronau, and Homburg (Saarland), Ermis came to Frankfurt in 2010. She had to forgo a posting in Australia (“I wanted to experience something exciting.”) because the Australians would not recognize her specialist qualification. Most recently, she served as interim head of the gynecology department at Nordwest Hospital.

Ermis – “No children, no husband, no pets. I’m aiming for a dog.” – lives in Sachsenhausen. In her free time, she likes to go hiking. She cycles and travels the wide world. “I can still see Europe when I’m old.”

Convinced of success

That she now has to build a completely new gynecology department at the Rotkreuz-Kliniken – where until recently only attending physicians operated – does not scare Ermis. She has already gained experience at other hospitals building structures from scratch. “I’m convinced that the clinic here will be a great success.” And that she is ambitious, people say about her as well, she jokes.

Freshly renovated rooms, new modern equipment, a motivated team, and a chief with an excellent reputation – the conditions couldn’t be better. That some clinic directors in the region do not exactly welcome the reopening, Ermis takes it sportingly. “I’ve been operating in Frankfurt for six years. The patients I’m operating on here now, I was already operating on before. I am not taking anything away from anyone.”