New Clinic Director at Campus Benjamin Franklin Strengthens Robotic and Digital Surgery
Berlin, January 5, 2026
Tim Vilz assumed the professorship for General and Visceral Surgery at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin on January 1st. This appointment includes the directorship of the clinic of the same name at the Benjamin Franklin Campus. Prof. Vilz succeeds Prof. Martin E. Kreis, who led the clinic from 2012 and has been responsible for patient care on the board of directors since 2021.
Prof. Tim Vilz is a specialist in visceral surgery, special visceral surgery, proctology, and oncological surgery. He was most recently Senior Consultant and Head of the Department of General, Visceral, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Bonn, as well as Head of the Surgical Clinical Trials Center.
Prof. Tim Vilz is a specialist in visceral surgery, special visceral surgery, proctology, and oncological surgery. The 48-year-old explains his move to Berlin: “The decision to leave Bonn was not easy for me. But Charité, with all its opportunities for collaboration and development, offers such an exciting and innovative environment that, even as someone from the Rhineland, I am happy to make the move to the northeast to work with my colleagues here and set new standards in university-level visceral surgery.”
Professor Vilz’s clinical expertise includes robot-assisted oncological abdominal surgery, particularly for hereditary tumors of the gastrointestinal tract in people under 50. He also focuses on implementing state-of-the-art perioperative treatment strategies for oncological surgeries, i.e., measures taken before, during, and after the surgical procedure. The goal is to prevent complications and improve recovery as well as long-term oncological outcomes for patients. Professor Vilz explains: “New diagnoses of hereditary tumor syndromes of the gastrointestinal tract will continue to rise in the coming years due to improved diagnostics. And especially with these often very young patients, close interdisciplinary collaboration gives us the opportunity not only to treat the cancer, but also to prevent it altogether. Modern, robot-assisted surgery and structured perioperative concepts enable maximum safety with minimal burden for the patients.”
Professor Vilz is also involved in research, conducting clinical studies in the field of perioperative medicine as well as studies focusing on digitalization and robotics in oncological visceral surgery. The visceral surgeon emphasizes: “Especially in times of staff and resource shortages, we must strive to improve the quality of treatment, optimize processes, and reduce costs through research activities in modern technologies. Digitalization offers great opportunities in this regard: This begins with digital patient pathways or apps that accompany and support patients from diagnosis through surgery to aftercare – be it through training videos to improve general health, low-threshold communication with treating physicians via chat, or monitoring using so-called wearables, whose measured values are analyzed by AI and, in the event of abnormalities, inform the treatment team.” He adds: “But of course, this also includes guided surgery or surgicalomics: AI warns if surgeons endanger important structures during the operation or dissect imprecisely. I would like to continue this work, which I began in Bonn, in the highly innovative environment of Charité.”
The professorship also entails teaching for students, postgraduate training and continuing education, as well as the promotion of young physicians and scientists: “My goal is to inspire students and young doctors early on and sustainably with a passion for surgery through practical teaching and training that incorporates modern technologies such as robotics and immersive environments. However, I also place great emphasis on learning and applying so-called soft skills, as these are of central importance in everyday clinical practice for safe, responsible, and patient-centered surgery.”
Brief CV
Tim Vilz was born on November 15, 1977, in Remagen. After graduating from high school in Bonn, he studied human medicine at the University of Bonn. In 2002, he received his doctorate as a scholarship recipient of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and subsequently began his surgical career at the Department of General, Visceral, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital Bonn. There, Vilz also qualified as a specialist in visceral surgery, acquired additional qualifications in proctology and specialized visceral surgery, and earned the European qualification of Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS) in surgical oncology. He completed his habilitation in Bonn in 2016. From 2017, the visceral surgeon worked as a senior physician at the University Hospital Bonn, where he assumed leading roles in robotic surgery and shaped innovative care and digitalization processes. He coordinated several certified cancer centers and served as an auditor for the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery. In 2023, he was appointed adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Bonn. Most recently, Prof. Vilz was the managing senior physician at the University Hospital Bonn, as well as head of the department of colorectal surgery and proctology, head of the surgical study center, and head of clinical data and digitalization at the Bonn Surgical Technology Center (BOSTER).