Dr. Petra Biedermann

Dr. Petra Biedermann is the principal consultant gastroenterologist and internist at the Liechtensteinisches Landesspital in Vaduz, Liechtenstein's national hospital. With over 20 years of experience in gastroenterology, hepatology, inflammatory bowel disease, and metabolic medicine, she is the cornerstone of specialist gastrointestinal care within the Principality, providing services that would otherwise necessitate routine travel to Switzerland or Austria for Liechtenstein's approximately 38,000 residents.

Dr. Biedermann trained at the Universität Zürich and undertook her gastroenterology fellowship at the Universitätsspital Zürich, one of Switzerland's preeminent academic medical centres, before moving to the Liechtensteinisches Landesspital to establish and lead its gastroenterology and internal medicine service. Her clinical scope is broad: as a relatively small hospital, the Landesspital relies on its gastroenterologist to cover not only endoscopic procedures and IBD management but also general internal medicine consultations for patients with complex multimorbidity.

Dr. Biedermann has a particular subspecialty interest in inflammatory bowel disease — Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis — where she manages the full therapeutic pathway including aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, and biologic therapies (anti-TNF agents, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, and newer JAK inhibitors). She also has clinical expertise in hepatology, managing patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver cirrhosis, and viral hepatitis, and coordinates with hepatobiliary surgical colleagues at Swiss referral centres for patients requiring liver biopsy, portal hypertension management, or liver transplant evaluation.

Dr. Biedermann has established a Liechtenstein gastrointestinal disease registry, which systematically captures data on GI disease incidence, treatment patterns, and outcomes in the Principality's population — a valuable scientific resource for understanding GI disease in small alpine European populations.

Dr. Biedermann completed her medical degree at the Universität Zürich, Faculty of Medicine, graduating with distinction. She undertook her internal medicine residency at the Kantonsspital Winterthur, receiving comprehensive training in general internal medicine, acute hospital medicine, and the management of complex multimorbidity. She then specialised in gastroenterology through a fellowship at the Universitätsspital Zürich, where she trained under internationally recognised gastroenterologists in endoscopy, hepatology, inflammatory bowel disease, and functional gastrointestinal disorders. She holds the Fellow of the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (FEBGH) designation, awarded following pan-European specialist competency examinations in gastroenterology and hepatology. She is also board certified in internal medicine through the Swiss FMH (Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum) certification system. She maintains active membership in the ECCO (European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation) and participates in ECCO annual meetings and educational workshops to remain current on evolving IBD therapeutics.

Dr. Biedermann's gastroenterology practice spans diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease management, hepatology, and general internal medicine. In endoscopy, she performs routine and complex colonoscopy including polypectomy and surveillance colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, upper GI gastroscopy for peptic ulcer disease, Barrett's oesophagus, and dyspepsia evaluation, and ERCP for bile duct stones and pancreatic duct disorders. She also performs capsule endoscopy for small bowel assessment in obscure GI bleeding and suspected Crohn's disease.

In inflammatory bowel disease, Dr. Biedermann manages both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, providing personalised treatment plans across the therapeutic spectrum — from mesalamine and corticosteroids through azathioprine and methotrexate immunomodulation to biologic and small molecule therapies including infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, and tofacitinib. She coordinates with colorectal surgical colleagues in Switzerland for patients requiring surgical intervention for medically refractory IBD.

In hepatology, she manages non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and NASH, viral hepatitis B and C (including direct-acting antiviral therapy for HCV), alcoholic liver disease, liver cirrhosis and its complications (ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy), and liver cancer surveillance. For patients requiring liver transplant assessment, she coordinates referrals to Swiss transplant centres.

Dr. Biedermann has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in journals including the Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, the Swiss Medical Weekly, and Gut. Her research is centred on IBD management and outcomes in Liechtenstein and the eastern Switzerland region, with a focus on the epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in small alpine populations, biologic therapy prescribing patterns, and the establishment of the Liechtenstein gastrointestinal disease registry. She has collaborated with Swiss colleagues at the Universitätsspital Zürich and the Inselspital Bern on multicentre IBD registry studies and has contributed Liechtenstein-specific data to pan-European ECCO IBD epidemiology research. Her hepatology research includes a retrospective cohort analysis of NAFLD prevalence and outcomes in Liechtenstein, published in the Swiss Medical Weekly. She has presented her findings at ECCO annual meetings and SGG symposia.

Dr. Biedermann provides gastroenterology and internal medicine services to patients from Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, and beyond. Given Liechtenstein's Swiss franc economy and close healthcare integration with Switzerland, Swiss-insured patients access her services at the Landesspital under Krankenkasse provisions. Liechtenstein residents access services through the national health insurance system. EU and EEA patients can access services under applicable cross-border healthcare regulations. Non-European private patients are accommodated at the Landesspital. Consultations are conducted in German and English. For international patients seeking specialist GI consultations — including second opinions on IBD diagnosis or treatment plans, or hepatology assessments for chronic liver disease — Dr. Biedermann provides consultations with access to the Landesspital's endoscopy suite and diagnostic imaging. For complex cases requiring ERCP or hepatobiliary surgery, she coordinates referrals to Swiss specialist centres.

Dr. Biedermann received the Liechtensteinische Ärztekammer (LAeK) Physician of Excellence Award in recognition of her sustained contribution to building a comprehensive gastroenterology and internal medicine service at the Landesspital and her scientific leadership of the Liechtenstein gastrointestinal disease registry. The Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Gastroenterologie (SGG) awarded her the SGG Young Investigator Award earlier in her career for her innovative research on IBD epidemiology in small alpine populations. She holds the Fellow of the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (FEBGH) designation and maintains active involvement in ECCO's scientific committees, contributing to the development of European IBD management guidelines.