Laser eye surgery in Vienna General Hospital (AKH)

Vienna General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus, AKH Wien) is the university hospital of the Medical University of Vienna, located in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Emperor Joseph II in 1784 and rebuilt as a modern medical campus opened in 1994, it is run by the City of Vienna and treats patients of every kind, from routine care to the most complex and rare conditions that other hospitals refer here.

A Medical City

Often described as "a city within a city", the AKH campus houses 29 university clinics, 35 clinical departments and hundreds of specialised outpatient clinics under one roof, along with its own laboratories, pharmacy, shops and restaurants. It has 1,691 beds, including large intensive care and intermediate care units, and 56 operating theatres. Around 1,600 doctors and 2,700 nursing staff work here, treating around 630,000 patients each year. Because the hospital and the Medical University of Vienna share the same campus and staff, patients are treated by doctors who are also researchers and university professors in their field.

Cancer Care

Together with the Medical University of Vienna, the AKH runs the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Vienna, which brings every cancer specialty together and treats tumours of all types, including rare and advanced cancers. Diagnosis, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies are coordinated in interdisciplinary tumour boards, and patients can access new treatments through clinical trials that are often not available elsewhere.

Complex Surgery and Transplantation

The AKH is a national referral centre for complex and high-risk surgery across neurosurgery, cardiac and vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, abdominal and cancer surgery, orthopaedics and transplantation. It performs kidney, liver, lung, heart, pancreas and bone-marrow transplants, and its lung transplant programme performs approximately 100 transplants annually.

Research and Innovation

As a university hospital, the AKH combines patient care with medical research and teaching. Many diagnostic and treatment methods used worldwide today were developed here, and its close link to the Medical University of Vienna means patients benefit from the latest scientific advances. A new Center for Translational Medicine on the campus further strengthens the path from laboratory research to patient treatment.

Recognition

The AKH is a member of the European University Hospital Alliance, a network of university hospitals in Europe focused on highly specialised medicine and research. Its guiding words, taken from its foundation in 1784, are "Saluti et solatio aegrorum" — for the healing and comfort of the sick.

International Patients

The hospital treats patients from Austria and abroad, with an information centre to help with enquiries and orientation on the large campus.