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What is it about? A ventricular septal defect is an opening between the left and right ventricles. It is a common malformation. This ventricular septal defect allows oxygenated blood to mix with “deoxygenated” blood. The result is an increased workload for the ventricles and therefore heart failure. Symptoms Shortness of breath or fatigue during exertion, palpitations... (symptoms of heart failure). Affected infants are more prone to respiratory infections. Treatments The ventricular septal defect will be closed surgically. Diuretics, digitalis, sodium restriction, and treatment of respiratory infections in the meantime if the situation is stable.

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What is pulsatile tinnitus? Pulsatile tinnitus is the perception of a rhythmic noise, often described as a beating or whooshing sound, that is synchronised with the patient’s pulse. Unlike conventional tinnitus, which is generally constant and non-rhythmic, pulsatile tinnitus is often a sign of a vascular abnormality or a blood circulation problem near the ear. SymptomsSymptoms of pulsatile tinnitus include:A beating or pulsating sound in one or both ears.A sensation of sound that may increase with exercise or when the head is tilted, or decrease with gentle compression of certain parts of the neck.Sometimes accompanied by hearing loss, dizziness or ear pain. Care Imaging examinationsTo identify the possible causes of pulsatile tinnitus, several imaging examinations are used:Brain MRI and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA): to visualise the blood vessels in the brain and neck and detect masses, vascular malformations or other structural abnormalities.Computed tomography angiography (CT angiography) and temporal bone CT scan: to assess vascular abnormalities.Doppler ultrasound: to examine blood flow in the cervical and intracranial vessels.Conventional angiography: sometimes necessary for a more detailed examination of the blood vessels.Medical care pathwayPatients suffering from pulsatile tinnitus should consult several specialists, including:ENT specialist (otorhinolaryngologist): initial consultation to assess the symptoms and perform the first examinations.Radiologist: to perform and interpret the imaging examinations.Neurologist: if intracranial vascular abnormalities are suspected.Cardiologist: if a cardiovascular cause is suspected.Interventional neuroradiologist: for cases requiring an endovascular procedure, particularly venous sinus stenting.TreatmentsTreatment options for pulsatile tinnitus depend on the underlying cause:Medical treatment: for causes related to hypertension or metabolic abnormalities.Surgical or endovascular intervention: for arteriovenous malformations, glomus tumours or dural fistulas.Endovascular embolisation: to treat certain types of vascular malformations, particularly using a stent.Auditory therapies: such as hearing aids or white-noise generators to reduce the perception of tinnitus.Behavioural therapy: to help patients manage the stress and anxiety associated with pulsatile tinnitus.The level of evidence for these treatments varies, with surgical and endovascular interventions often based on case reports and clinical series, whereas medical and behavioural treatments have more robust evidence for symptom management.Multidisciplinary discussionThe management of pulsatile tinnitus often requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving regular discussions between ENT specialists, radiologists, interventional neuroradiologists, neurologists, cardiologists and neurosurgeons to determine the exact cause and choose the appropriate treatment.Follow-upFollow-up of patients with pulsatile tinnitus is crucial in order to:Monitor treatment effectiveness: particularly after surgical or endovascular intervention.Manage residual symptoms: with ongoing auditory or behavioural therapies.Control risk factors: such as hypertension or other underlying medical conditions.Follow-up is provided by a multidisciplinary team to ensure comprehensive care and improve patients’ quality of life.  Our specialists Make an appointment Associated services

The Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at Erasme Hospital was established more than 40 years ago by Professor Daniel Baran.Since 1998, following the official designation by INAMI of the seven specialised reference centres, we have developed the ULB Cystic Fibrosis Institute, which operates across two geographically separate sites: children with cystic fibrosis receive care from paediatricians at the Queen Fabiola Children’s University Hospital (HUDERF), while adults with cystic fibrosis receive care from pulmonologists at the Erasme University Hospital site. The two sites work closely together, notably through a transition clinic and the bilateral exchange of physicians.The ULB Cystic Fibrosis Institute is part of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society – Clinical Trial Network (ECFS-CTN) and offers innovative therapies to both children and adults.  What is mucoviscidosis? Cystic fibrosis is a serious genetic disease affecting the respiratory and digestive systems, particularly the exocrine pancreas. In Belgium, more than 1,000 people are affected by this rare disease. It is primarily the lung disease that determines life expectancy, and every effort must be made to ensure optimal preventive and therapeutic management of this condition. Thanks to successive therapeutic advances since the 1960s, the survival of people with cystic fibrosis has fortunately gradually improved, and today more than 60% of people with cystic fibrosis in Belgium have reached adulthood and are receiving care in facilities adapted to adults.In addition, in recent years, more targeted treatments for the underlying genetic and protein defect have been added to supportive treatments—which consist of physiotherapy, aerosol therapy and antibiotic therapy—and have had a very positive effect on the progression of lung disease, quality of life and treatment burden. In other words, a child with cystic fibrosis born in 2022 currently has very good chances of reaching adulthood, with a significantly improved life expectancy and quality of life.  A multidisciplinary team Doctors:Professor Christiane KNOOP – Adult Department CoordinatorDr Isabelle ETIENNEProfessor Laurence HANSSENS – Paediatric Department CoordinatorNurse CoordinatorsVéronique VANHOLLEBEKELutgarde NIEUWBORGPsychologistAraxie MATOSSIANDietitiansMagdaléna SAUSSEZ Anais CHIROUX PharmacistJulie STEENS PhysiotherapistsKevin FORTON Olivier VAN HOVECamille MAURICE Research NursesAgnès LAMBERT Anne-Marie SALUMU EKENDJIAxelle HEMELSOETSocial Worker Zinb BOULAOUANE : zinb [dot] boulaouane [at] hubruxelles [dot] be (zinb[dot]boulaouane[at]hubruxelles[dot]be)Tel.: 02 /555 50 82Medical SecretaryIhssane LAKSISAR : Ihssane [dot] laksisar [at] hubruxelles [dot] be (Ihssane[dot]laksisar[at]hubruxelles[dot]be)Tel.: 02 /555 57 50 Useful links Discover cystic fibrosis in detail on the Children’s Hospital websiteBelgian Association for the Fight against Cystic FibrosisBelgian Cystic Fibrosis Registry Vaincre la mucoviscidose CF Europe European Cystic Fibrosis Society Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 

The thoracic endoscopy centre at Erasme Hospital performs all types of bronchoscopies, whether diagnostic, such as bronchoalveolar lavage, bronchial or transbronchial biopsies, or therapeutic, such as the placement of an endobronchial stent. A reference centre and a teaching centre For several years, the thoracic endoscopy centre has established itself as a reference centre for bronchoscopy in Belgium and Europe by performing certain types of endoscopic procedures that are unique in our country, such as endobronchial navigation for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary nodules and cryobiopsies for the diagnosis of peripheral interstitial diseases. For teaching purposes, the Erasme Hospital Endoscopy Centre has been organising the Thoracic Endoscopy Congress for the Belgian Society of Pneumology for the past 10 years, with the aim of training participants in new techniques in Belgium. The endoscopic treatment of pulmonary emphysema through bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (valves) is one of the activities performed by our endoscopists. Bronchial endoscopy also plays a role at various stages in the management of lung cancer, both for diagnostic biopsies and for bronchial debulking or the placement of endobronchial stents. To optimise working conditions for bronchial endoscopy, Erasme Hospital has developed a multidisciplinary Endoscopy Unit with specialised nursing and anaesthesiology teams, ensuring the expertise essential for carrying out this highly precise activity.  

Consult our privacy policy for patients of the H.U.B and its partner institutions.   Discover Policy on the protection of the private life of students doing an internship or carrying out research at the Institution File en.hub_politique_vie_privee_des_etudiants_un_stage_ou_un_travail_de_recherche.pdf

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Entity (company name) : Les Cliniques Universitaires de Bruxelles – Hôpital Erasme (Université Libre de Bruxelles)Registered office address : Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Anderlecht, BelgiqueHereinafter, the "Institution"Registered on the directory of legal persons under company no. : 0941.792.893VAT number: BE 0941.792.893Publisher responsible for the website (the Website Institution) : Hôpital ErasmeContact mail: communication [at] hubruxelles [dot] be (communication[at]hubruxelles[dot]be) As a hospital structure, the competent supervisory authority for the Institution is the Federal Public Service (FPS) for Health, Safety of the Food Chain and the Environment. 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Hamid Ghareh Hassanlou, an Iranian radiologist, has just been sentenced to death in his country for having come to the aid of peaceful protestors opposed to the regime. Such a threat of reprisals for exercising the medical profession is intolerable.  Signed by Sadeghi-Meibodi Niloufar, Director of the Radiology Department; Jean-Michel Hougardy, H.U.B. Medical Director; Renaud Witmeur, H.U.B. General Director; Nicolas Mavroudakis, Professor of Neurology and Dean of the ULB Faculty of Medicine.    We have learned with consternation of the death sentence passed on Dr Hamid Ghareh Hassanlou, a radiologist in Iran, for having come to the aid of peaceful protestors opposed to the regime. This death sentence is a serious violation of the values of humanism and freedom of thought that we strongly defend.    As human beings and more particularly as doctors, nurses and employees of the Brussels University Hospital (H.U.B.), a grouping of the Erasmus Hospital, the Children's Hospital and the Jules Bordet Institute, we cannot remain silent in the face of such a decision! It is our duty to protect the life and dignity of each individual.    The death penalty, used as a tool of repression by a totalitarian regime, is cruel and deeply inhumane. It sows terror, banishes freedom of thought, kills humanism and adds to suffering and grief.    We are also shocked to observe that the Iranian Government is using hospitals and universities to search for opponents, using ambulances as a means of transport for the forces of repression and giving prison sentences to aid workers (with the emblematic case  of a 28-year sentence for Olivier Vandescasteele as part of a macabre attempt at "hostage diplomacy"). We cannot remain silent and appeal for the mobilisation of all.    An affront to fundamental values  Freedom of thought should be a fundamental right for each individual. Every individual has the right to speak freely and to express his or her convictions without fear of reprisals. Everybody should have the right to practice their profession of nurse, teacher or academic without violation of their fundamental rights. The right to health is equally essential. Sentencing to death a doctor, whose action symbolises the profound meaning of his profession while at the same time defending the values of humanism and freedom of thought, is a dramatic affront to the most elementary fundamental values.    As staff and directors at the H.U.B., we protest strongly against any action that opposes humanism, freedom of thought and the very meaning of the act of caring for others. All persons, whatever their origins, their beliefs or their culture, are entitled to health and access to hospitals that must remain inviolable in all circumstances. We are united in defending these unalienable rights and demand respect for the life and dignity of each individual.   

13/03/2023 On the occasion of International Women's Rights Day on 8 March, the Brussels University Hospital (H.U.B.) - which brings together the Erasmus Hospital, the Children's Hospital and the Jules Bordet Institute -  is highlighting, as a space dedicated to life and care excellence, the gynaecological and obstetrical violence suffered by women. Violence that is a reality. Violence that exists, which happens, whether voluntarily or otherwise. It is time to speak of the damage done and to achieve medical progress thanks to the experience of patients.  Anne Delbaere, Clotilde Lamy, Isaline Gonze, Anne Holoye, Maxime Fastrez & Philippe Simon   The medicalization of childbirth, together with all the advances in terms of medical care and treatment, represents major progress that has made it possible to considerably reduce maternal and infant mortality as well as the various complications associated with childbirth.  This is accompanied, however, by new medical procedures, actions and techniques (episiotomy, caesarean section, etc.) that can be violent for the patient and generate a negative perception of childbirth.  These practices can be carried out too quickly and in cases that sometimes could have been avoided. The WHO has warned of an excessive use of these practices and advocates a "positive experience of childbirth". Members of the medical profession and medical structures and institutions are an inherent part of this experience.     Gynaecological and obstetrical practices evolve over time. On one hand, among members of the medical profession, the practices of a few decades ago are no longer those of today. With developments in scientific knowledge, gynaecological and obstetrical medicine is becoming increasingly precise and personalised. On the other hand, among patients tongues have loosened and women are daring to say what they feel. Based on the experience of care staff and patients, acts of the past, such as systematic vaginal examinations, are no longer practised today. Nothing is set in stone, medicine will continue to evolve and continued dialogue between women, or between women and care staff, will lead to a better understanding of what each patient feels.    Dialogue, mutual respect and trust between the carer and the woman constitute the foundation for a care that respects the woman's needs. Within our institutions our patients are active partners in their own care, whether in terms of a parental project, childbirth or the choice between the treatment options available for different gynaecological pathologies. This dialogue enables our patients to assume an increasingly important role in choosing the treatment they receive. The different clinics and the functional unity of the service are rooted in an approach that integrates the human aspect and respect for patients. Dialogue is primordial and results from the desire of both parties to progress together in these life projects   True to the humanist values of our institutions, we are committed to training the gynaecologists and obstetricians, midwives, and nurses of the future to pay particular attention to the relationship between care staff and patient, to communication, to the notion of informed consent and to promoting a human approach to medical care.  As the training of care staff extends beyond the hospital itself, we also support professional associations that participate in the profession's general development by sharing their expertise.  We encourage patients to give thought to their birth plan. On a day-to-day basis we discuss cases as a team to analyse delicate situations, in particular in the event of emergency interventions, difficult consultations or during technical procedures. For us, patient consent is of the utmost importance. It is important to discuss what the patient has experienced and feels and, as far as possible, to anticipate together any situations that may arise   – even the most serious ones – and how to react in such cases. We approach these discussions in a spirit of total transparency and goodwill. We encourage every doctor and every nurse to take the time to listen to each and every patient.    Women are entitled to gynaecological and obstetrical care that respects their wishes and right to be heard. While women themselves have the right to take care of themselves in the best way possible, to monitor their own gynaecological health and to make the choices that they feel are right for them, in terms of motherhood, the refusal of motherhood or contraception, for example. The dialogue must be two-way and it is by bringing together the experiences of the care staff and the patient that in partnership one can arrive at the very best possible care that respects the decision-making autonomy of the patient.   

Welcome to the Erasmus Hospital! The Erasmus Hospital Since 1977, the Erasmus Hospital has been providing general care adapted to the individual patient.  Also recognised as a Belgian reference centre for 12 rare diseases and a member of numerous European reference networks, the hospital is located on the Erasmus hospital and academic campus in Anderlecht. Two internal centres (the Erasmus Medical Centre – EMC and the Erasmus Imedia Centre), one external polyclinic (Lothier) and two external centres (Trauma and Rehabilitation Centre – CTR and the Geriatric Rehabilitation Centre – CRG) complete the patient care facilities. Image Image Institution Since 1977 the Erasmus Hospital has been proposing general care adapted to the individual patient. Also recognised as a Belgian reference centre for 12 rare diseases and member of several European reference networks, the hospital is situated on the Erasmus hospital and university campus in Anderlecht. Institution Values and missions As a university institution, the Erasmus Hospital pursues three major missions: patient care, research and teaching. Through these missions, the hospital strives to provide the highest quality care to patients while advancing scientific knowledge and passing on its knowledge to future generations. Values and missions Organisation and institutions In order to meet patients' expectations as effectively as possible, the Erasme Hospital has several committees: the Management Committee, the Board of Directors, the Medical Council. Organisation and institutions Quality The Erasmus Hospital is driven by a dynamic of continuous improvement rooted in a quality culture that is evident across all its activities and that involves all members of staff. Quality Patient-Partnership The Erasme Hospital ensures that every patient can be a partner in his or her own care. We also encourage patients to play an active role in our institution by setting up a patient partnership committee to help improve the quality and safety of your care, and that of other patients, as well as the ongoing training of carers. Patient Partnership

The Erasmus Hospital Communication Department is at the disposal of the media for any request for interviews, reports or photographs. We will be pleased to direct you to the specialist best able to answer your questions.  Director of Communication Frédérique Meeus frederique.meeus@hubruxelles.be +32 2 555 84 30 +32 499 54 05 16 Media Officer Louis Dijon louis.dijon@hubruxelles.be +32 478 83 06 49 Press releases The hospital and YOU : Your hospital’s magazine Whether you are a patient, relative of a patient, future patient or visitor, we invite you to discover the H.U.B’s new magazine:  “The hospital and YOU”. Packed with information and news on our care and care staff, our fields of expertise and innovations! Your health is at the centre of our concerns.  Discover all the issues here and keep up to date on all that is happening at the H.U.B! File hub_decembre_2023.pdf