Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie I DGAV

What Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie I DGAV does

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie e.V. (DGAV), founded in 1998 and headquartered in Berlin, is the German professional medical society for general and visceral surgery, organized as a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) and supported by a wholly-owned service subsidiary, DGAV GmbH. Its mission is to advance research, clinical practice, training and quality assurance across general and visceral surgery in the German-speaking market (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), serving practicing surgeons, residents, medical students, surgical support staff and hospitals/clinics seeking quality certification.

DGAV's core product surface is anchored by four platforms. The StuDoQ clinical registry system is a web-based platform capturing more than 650,000 patient records across 12 specialty registries (pancreas, liver, hernia, colorectal, bariatric/metabolic, minimally invasive surgery and others), supporting 98 scientific publications and forming the data backbone for hospital certification. The Center Certification System, integrated with the German Federal Hospital Atlas (Bundes-Klinik-Atlas) and jointly operated with ChirZert for bariatric centers since January 2026, has issued certifications to 454 hospitals and clinics. The WeiFoQ continuing-education curriculum and the new dgav Bootcamp (launched October 2026) deliver structured surgical skills training from suturing to robotic procedures, validated by published effectiveness studies. Finally, DGAV leads 13 clinical guidelines within the AWMF framework and contributes to more than 100, setting evidence-based standards for the discipline.

The society's revenue model is a mix of recurring and transactional streams. Annual membership dues (free for medical students) form the subscription backbone; event and congress fees from the Deutscher Chirurgie Kongress (DCK, ~5,000 attendees) and Viszeralmedizin (joint with DGVS) drive peak seasonal revenue; multi-year hospital certification contracts (priced per a published fee schedule) and WeiFoQ/Bootcamp course fees contribute professional services income; and a small licensing/royalty stream comes from administering IFSO international bariatric membership (~100 USD/year) for German surgeons. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging 15-16 specialized working groups, two flagship annual congresses, a Berlin-based headquarters, and dedicated social media channels (LinkedIn, Instagram) targeting younger surgeon cohorts. Distribution is direct: members enroll via the website or at congresses, hospitals apply directly to the DGAV Certification Center, and trainees register for courses through the Academy division.

Name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie I DGAV

Legal name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie e.V.

Website

https://dgav.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DGAV is the German nonprofit professional medical society for general and visceral surgery, serving surgeons, residents, students and hospitals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland through clinical registries (StuDoQ), hospital center certification, structured surgical training, clinical guidelines and annual congresses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Professional Society Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Healthcare & Medical Licensure Exam Prep (USMLE/COMLEX, NCLEX, Dentistry, Pharmacy, PA) (EDANAIAA)

Keywords

• Surgical certification programs
• Clinical quality registries
• Medical professional society
• Surgical training courses
• Clinical guideline development

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees charged to surgeons and medical professionals. Includes access to member portal, newsletters, and reduced rates for congresses and courses.
2. Event and Congress Fees: Registration fees for major congresses (DCK and Viszeralmedizin) and training events including boot camps and WeiFoQ courses. DGAV membership qualifies for discounted rates.
3. Certification Fees: Fees charged to hospitals and clinics for center certification processes, including initial certification, re-certification, and documentation audits. DGAV GmbH conducts certifications on behalf of the society.
4. Course and Training Fees: Fees for structured training programs including the WeiFoQ curriculum, guidelines academy, and surgical skills courses.
5. IFSO Membership Administration: DGAV collects and forwards IFSO membership fees (~100 USD/year) for German bariatric surgeons as national representative, retaining administrative fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DGAV is a German nonprofit professional medical society that develops and maintains clinical guidelines (Leitlinien), certifies surgical centers for quality assurance, and operates the StuDoQ clinical registry platform covering 12 surgical subspecialties. It delivers continuing medical education through the WeiFoQ curriculum, the new dgav Bootcamp intensive training, and major annual congresses (DCK and Viszeralmedizin). Membership is offered to surgeons, residents, and medical students, with free admission for the latter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• StuDoQ: Clinical registry system for quality assurance and research in visceral surgery
• WeiFoQ
• dgav Bootcamp
• Leitlinien Akademie
• Viszeralmedizin
• Deutscher Chirurgie Kongress (DCK)

Quantifiable outcome

• Certified centers demonstrate adherence to evidence-based quality standards verified through systematic audit processes.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ChirZertcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026From January 2026, DGAV conducts bariatric and metabolic surgery certifications jointly with ChirZert, integrating DGAV quality criteria with ChirZert's certification infrastructure for obesity treatment centers.
• DGVS (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Annual joint Viszeralmedizin congress bringing together visceral surgery and gastroenterology. DGAV co-organizes this interdisciplinary conference with DGVS, creating the largest German-language forum for digestive medicine. Joint Guidelines Academy also operated by both societies.
• DGCH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Annual Deutscher Chirurgie Kongress (DCK) organized in cooperation with DGCH. DCK 2026 in Leipzig hosted by DGCH, DGAV, and DGKJCH with approximately 5,000 attendees representing all surgical disciplines.
• DGKJCH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinderchirurgie)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Pediatric surgery society participating in the joint Deutscher Chirurgie Kongress (DCK) alongside DGCH and DGAV.
• AWMF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024DGAV develops clinical guidelines within the AWMF framework, contributing to over 100 medical guidelines. DGAV leads 13 guidelines independently and collaborates on others through AWMF's systematic methodology.
• IFSO (International Federation for Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015CAADIP serves as the official German national representative of IFSO since 2015, coordinating all German bariatric surgeons in the international network. IFSO membership (100 USD/year) is administered through CAADIP, providing access to Obesity Surgery journal, congress discounts, and global professional network.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ChirZert: German certification body for surgical centers that now jointly conducts bariatric/metabolic certification with DGAV from January 2026. Direct peer in the surgical center certification market with overlapping audit infrastructure.
• DGVS (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten): German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Diseases, co-organizer of the Viszeralmedizin congress and joint Leitlinien Akademie with DGAV. Closely peers in interdisciplinary education, guideline development, and congress operations for the digestive disease vertical.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie (DGCH): The overarching German Society of Surgery, co-organizer of the annual DCK congress with DGAV. Directly peers in surgical society membership, continuing education, and congress operations across all surgical disciplines.
• BDC (Berufsverband der Deutschen Chirurgen): German professional association of surgeons focused on economic, legal, and professional interests of practicing surgeons. Complements DGAV's scientific focus with operational/advocacy peer overlap in the German surgical community.
• IFSO (International Federation for Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders): International bariatric surgery society for which DGAV's CAADIP working group serves as the German national representative since 2015. Direct peer in bariatric surgeon certification, standards, and global membership administration.

Others

• AWMF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften): Germany's umbrella organization for medical scientific societies that hosts DGAV's clinical guidelines. Functions as an enabling platform and standards framework peer rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Surgeons (ACS): The largest U.S. surgical professional society with comparable activities in surgeon education, center verification programs, and clinical registry platforms (NSQIP). Functions as a global incumbent peer in the surgical society category.
• Royal College of Surgeons of England: UK-based surgical professional body with surgical training, certification, and quality assurance programs. Pairs with DGAV as a peer national-level surgical society with established education and professional standards functions.

Emerging players

• EAES (European Association for Endoscopic Surgery): European society focused on minimally invasive and endoscopic surgery, overlapping with DGAV's CAMIC working group. Comparable as a sub-specialty European surgical society with overlapping education and certification activities.
• SAGES (Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons): North American society for gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgeons with overlapping education, guidelines, and certification scope. Compares to DGAV's working groups in minimally invasive and GI surgery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dgav
• Instagraminstagram.com/junge_chirurgie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie I DGAV