Clinical and experimental research projects:

Innovations and research in the area of endoscopic microinvasive cardiac surgery:

• Development of microinvasive technologies to optimize microinvasive surgery
• Development of access for endoscopic microinvasive cardiac surgery
• Endoscopic microinvasive valve surgery with automated ring suture technology, aortic root retraction system
• Percutaneous femoral and axillary cannulation for extracorporeal circulation in minimally invasive cardiac surgery
• Ultrasound aspiration of severe mitral annular calcifications during endoscopic mitral valve surgery
• Computed tomography-based valve measurement and prosthesis simulation for endoscopic valve surgery
• Integration of mixed reality (virtual reality, mixed and augmented reality) in endoscopic cardiac surgery
• Simulation-based training for endoscopic valve surgery
• Microinvasive surgery on the beating heart of the tricuspid valve
• Total arterial complete myocardial revascularization via an endoscopic microinvasive approach
• Aortic surgery including aortic root surgery (Bentall procedure, David procedure) via an endoscopic microinvasive approach
• Endoscopic heart valve replacement in situs inversus totalis

Research in the field of anesthesia in minimally invasive cardiac surgery:

• The Bonn Heart Center Protocol
• Research in the field of new biological heart valves and aortic prostheses
• International IMPACT registry: Impact of pre-existing comorbidities on outcomes of patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement with the new biological aortic valve
• Hemodynamic and clinical performance of the novel bioprosthetic aortic valve
• Tendyne system for mitral valve replacement
• The frozen-elephant technique with a novel hybrid prosthesis for severe aortic arch disease

Research into the causes of perioperative renal insufficiency in cardiac surgery:

• Causes and treatment of postoperative renal dysfunction after cardiac surgery as an experimental animal model in pigs

Heart valve surgery:

• Influence of the design and orientation of mechanical aortic valves on hemodynamic and coronary perfusion
• Investigation of the optimal tissue for biological valves
• Influence of progressive valve calcification on valve function in vitro
• Opening and closing kinematics in uncalcified and calcified aortic valve prostheses

Optimization of surgical techniques on the large arteries close to the heart:

• Mild hypothermia in the surgical treatment of aortic dissection
• Surgical treatment of acute type A dissection
• Distal body perfusion management during replacement of the aortic arch

Optimization of therapeutic concepts for heart failure:

• Optimization of left ventricular lead placement in animal models with left ventricular failure and hypertrophy
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy
• Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the treatment of cardiogenic shock after acute myocardial infarction
• Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the treatment of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy after implantation of an assist device as a bridge-to-bridge concept

Cardiac arrhythmia surgery:

• Pacemaker implantation in neonates and infants with congenital heart defects
• Influence of different pacing modes on left ventricular contractility after cardiopulmonary bypass
• CRT+ D implantation with epicardial and transvenous lead placement
• ICD implantation in patients with left ventricular assist device
• Influence of high thoracic epidural anesthesia on the incidence of perioperative atrial fibrillation in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting

Congenital heart surgery:

• Long-term prognosis of patients after surgical treatment of complete atrioventricular septal defect in the neonatal period
• Long-term results of patients after surgical treatment of tetralogy of Fallot
• Late complications in patients after surgical treatment of transposition of the great arteries
• Long-term results of patients in childhood after prosthetic treatment of the right ventricular outflow tract
• Long-term results of patients after surgical correction of the abnormal outlet of the left main stem from the pulmonary artery
• Monocentric study on the use of autologous vascular prostheses for total cavopulmonary anastomosis in patients with a functional single ventricle

Research in the area of surgical therapy of endocarditis:

• Development of a surgical technique for the reconstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract and the aortic root in cases of aortic root and left ventricular outflow tract involvement

Collaborations on Experimental and Clinical Research:

2014
Development of a new surgical technique to restore the left ventricular outflow tract and the aortic root in cases of endocarditis under the direction of Prof. Dr. Mohr

2012
Monocentric study (phase I) on the use of an autologous vascular prosthesis for the creation of a total cavopulmonary anastomosis in patients with a functional single ventricle in collaboration with the Department of Surgical Research and Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Dr. S.P. Hoerstrup, Switzerland

2009-2017
Examination and follow-up of patients after correction of congenital heart defects in close collaboration with the Clinic for Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center Leipzig under the direction of Prof. Dr. I. Dahnert

2006-2009
Institute for Cardiovascular Physiology J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt a. M. under the direction of Prof. Dr. R. Brandes: Development of an animal model to investigate the causes of renal insufficiency after cardiac surgery and interventions and the use of radical traps to reduce the pathogenicity of heart-lung machine

2005-2008
Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Aachen under the direction of Prof. Dr. U. Steinseifer: In vitro investigation of prosthesis calcification and its performance at different heart-time volumes under progressive calcification

2004-2008
Examination and determination of coronary perfusion and coronary flow reserve by MRI in patients after prosthetic aortic valve replacement with the Institute of Radiology of the J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt a. M. under the direction of Prof. Dr. T. Vogl