Stig Borbjerg Laursen appointed clinical professor in Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

By Tomas Homburg, thomburg@health.sdu.dk, 2/19/2024

Throughout his career, Stig Borbjerg Laursen has been very interested in gastrointestinal endoscopy, especially upper gastrointestinal bleeding, including bleeding peptic ulcers. His research is based on his work with patients, and he has carried out a number of studies with the aim of optimising the treatment of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

The studies have focused on several different areas, including the development of methods to assess the treatment needs of the individual patient as part of a more tailored treatment, new forms of treatment to stop bleeding, optimised medical treatment and preventive blocking of arteries (prophylactic embolisation) in order to avoid recurrent bleeding from peptic ulcers. He has also carried out research in endoscopic and X-ray examination of the bile ducts and the pancreatic duct system (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreaticography (ERCP)) and in training of doctors in performing endoscopies of the gastrointestinal tract.

Stig Borbjerg Laursen is also a passionate endoscopist who feels at ease when a pulsating bleeding from a peptic ulcer needs to be stopped, a large stone has to be removed from the deep bile ducts, or a polyp is searched for deep in the small intestine.

Since 2012, Stig Borbjerg Laursen has been involved in the development of an international research network within upper gastrointestinal bleeding in close collaboration with Glasgow Royal Infirmary, UK, and Yale School of Medicine, USA. The network has enabled the inclusion of patients from the USA, Scotland, England, Denmark, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Singapore and Israel in large clinical studies in the area.

Stig Borbjerg Laursen enjoys teaching and has held several national courses for doctors and nurses in the treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Currently, he is collaborating with Nordic Phantoms on developing phantoms for hands-on training of specialist doctors in handling patients with severe bleeding from varicose veins in the oesophagus and bleeding peptic ulcers. It is believed that the phantoms may play a central role in future specialist medical training, and at the same time they contribute to ensuring the maintenance of doctors’ competences in centres with few instances of patients with severe bleeding.

In addition to his clinical work, Stig Borbjerg Laursen is chairman of the Joint Endoscopy Committee under the Danish Surgical Society (DKS) and the Danish Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology (DSGH) and a board member of the Scandinavian Association for Digestive Endoscopy (SADE).

One of Stig’s visions for the future is a desire for closer cooperation between the endoscopy centres in Denmark. For the past year, he has benefitted from a close collaboration on research, ERCP and Endoscopic Ultrasound between the Department for Medical Gastrointestinal Diseases S, OUH and the Gastro Unit at Hvidovre Hospital. The collaboration provides valuable professional sparring and improves patient treatment at both hospitals. The same kind of close cooperation with the other Danish centres would benefit everyone.

Stig Borbjerg Laursen received his medical degree from SDU in 2007. He defended his PhD thesis on the treatment of bleeding peptic ulcers in 2013. He has been employed at the Department of Clinical Research, SDU, since 2013, first as a postdoc and since 2017 as an associate professor. He became a specialist in Internal Medicine: Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2022.

Simultaneously with this appointment as professor, Stig Borbjerg Laursen is appointed consultant at the Department of Medical Gastrointestinal Diseases S, Odense University Hospital.