MD, PhD;  Senior Consultant for Internal Medicine at the Foeldi Clinic in Germany, European Centre of Lymphology.

From 2016 to 2019 he also served as a Secretary General of the German Society of Lymphology. In 2019 he was the Congress President of the German Congress of Lymphology. He is the founder of the European Lipoedema Forum, an international network of renowned health care professionals from 14 European countries as well as from well-known experts from the US and Australia.

Dr. Bertsch is the leading author of the article series "Lipoedema - myths and facts". These articles have spread worldwide and contribute to an essential amount to the paradigm shift we currently see in diagnoses as well as in treatment of lipoedema. The European Lipoedema Forum created a Consensus and Best Practice Document on Lipoedema which has been published in February 2020. Together with the renowned psychologist Gabriele Erbacher Dr. Bertsch also is lead author of the International Consensus Document on Lipoedema which was published in October 2020.

JOWC/JWC_Consensus_Lipoedema.pdf

In 2008, Dr. Bertsch developed a unique, multi-disciplinary therapy program at the Foeldi Clinic for patients suffering from morbid obesity, obesity-associated lymphedema and lipedema. This very successful multimodal program includes comprehensive medical diagnostic, psychosocial care tools, nutrition counselling as well as bariatric and plastic surgery – when indicated – in addition to conservative treatment with Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT).

In 2012, Dr. Bertsch earned Specialist Certification of Obesity Professional Education (SCOPE), the only internationally-recognized certification in obesity management for health care professionals. SCOPE was an outcome of the 2002 European Union Obesity Summit that highlighted the need to improve clinical management of obesity.

Dr. Bertsch is one of only two physicians in Germany who consults in an outpatient setting approved by the health insurance commission with patients who have lymphedema and lipedema. He and his team consult with approximately 4000 patients per year.