Since September 2026, a medical advisory board has supported the Swiss Angiodysplasia Association. Four specialist physicians who diagnose, treat and research congenital vascular malformations in their daily work assist the association’s committee with their expertise on a voluntary basis.
What the board does for the association
- It provides specialist guidance on preparing our information material for people affected.
- It helps us make existing specialist content usable for Switzerland and its national languages.
- It advises the committee on questions of medical care.
- It gives specialist talks at the association’s events.
- It helps build contacts with specialised centres and networks throughout Switzerland.
Members of the board
Prof. em. Dr. med. Iris Baumgartner
Angiology · Interdisciplinary Malformation Centre, Klinik Beau-Site Bern
Prof. em. Dr. med. Iris Baumgartner is a specialist in angiology and general internal medicine and heads the Interdisciplinary Malformation Centre at Klinik Beau-Site in Bern. There, congenital vascular malformations are treated on an interdisciplinary basis, from diagnosis and minimally invasive procedures through to long-term care.
Until her retirement as professor emerita at the University of Bern, she carried out research with the Bern working group and contributed to international consensus documents. In 2008 she established the prospective Swiss VASCOM registry, the basis of clinical research on vascular malformations. A recent review brings together the phenotype, genetics and pain-directed treatment of peripheral venous malformations in a treatment pathway for everyday practice (Journal of Cardiology and Clinical Research 2026). A German-language version will soon appear in the journal PRAXIS.
As founder and president of the board of trustees of the Stiftung für Gefässfehlbildungen, she communicates research findings and raises public awareness. She brings this link between clinical practice, research and patients’ concerns to the advisory board.
Languages: German, English
PD Dr. med. Sarah Bernhard
Angiology · Competence Centre for Vascular Malformations, Inselspital Bern · Spitalzentrum Biel
I am a specialist in general internal medicine and angiology. At Inselspital I head the Competence Centre for Vascular Malformations and coordinate the KOSEK reference centre for rare multisystemic vascular diseases. I also work as a senior consultant in general and interventional angiology at Spitalzentrum Biel, where I likewise run an interdisciplinary clinic for vascular malformations.
In addition to imaging and genetic diagnostics, interventional and surgical treatments as well as targeted drug therapies, planned and carried out individually on an interdisciplinary basis, are part of standard care.
In my research, I am dedicated to improving the diagnosis and characterisation of vascular malformations and to the continuous optimisation and innovation of treatment options – work I would also like to pursue within the Swiss Angiodysplasia Association.
Languages: German, English, French, Spanish
PD Dr. med. Caroline Seebauer
ENT and Facial Surgery · Luzerner Kantonsspital
PD Dr. med. Caroline Seebauer is a senior physician with special responsibilities at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Facial Surgery at Luzerner Kantonsspital. Her expertise covers congenital vascular malformations of the head and neck, which she deepened during a research stay at Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School, USA). After working at the HHT Centre in Regensburg (Germany), she now runs the HHT Centre Lucerne for patients with Osler’s disease (hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia). On the advisory board, she would like to contribute her clinical and scientific experience in the interdisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies of the head and neck.
Languages: German, English
PhD Dr. med. Aleksandra Tuleja
Angiology · Angiology and Vascular Surgery Outpatient Clinic, Inselspital Bern
PhD Dr. med. Aleksandra Tuleja is an angiologist and head of the angiology and vascular surgery outpatient clinic at Inselspital in Bern. Since 2017 she has worked clinically and scientifically on congenital vascular malformations. In her PhD thesis she investigated their clinical, imaging and molecular characteristics, with the aim of translating new molecular-biological findings into the clinical context. On the advisory board, she would particularly like to contribute the patient perspective, interdisciplinary care and the evidence-based development of diagnosis and treatment of rare vascular malformations.
Members are listed in alphabetical order. Some external links lead to pages in German. As of October 2026.