Experience

Organized the pre-opening and opening of this new private cardiac hospital defined the medical standards and operational procedures, established an effectice clinical governance system and was responsible for all matters of clinical organisation and patient safety. Started the German Health GmbH, Nurnberg. [The purpose of this start-up was the organization of patient incoming and 'health tourism' to Germany. It became quite successful and was sold later to the Fresenius Group]

Senior consultant of the private (first German hospital listed at the Frankfurt stock exchange) Herz-Gefäßklinik GmbH - Rhön Klinikum - in Bad Neustadt Germany, treating over 12.000 cardiac patients and 4.000 open heart operations annually, one of the largest, innovative, economically & medically most profitable and successful cardiac departments in Europe at that time.

Responsible to start a new heart transplant program and performed the first heart transplantation in Freiburg in March 1991. Started my own research laboratory and working group for tissue engineering and gene technology. We performed the first ever implantation of gen manipulated derived angiogenetic growth factors in human coronary patients to induce collateral blood vessel growth. Supervised a total of 52 MD theses of medical students working in one my research Lab and study groups.

During my post-Doc education at the Department of Surgery II at the University of Vienna I went through academic surgical training in general, thoracic, cardiovascular, trauma, plastic & reconstructive surgery. Started my own research laboratory and working group for cell and tissue culture and scanning electron microscopy. Our working group was one of the first ever to perform successful clinical tissue engineering surgery. The main result and outcome was the development and introduction of the novel technique of in vitro endothelialization of vascular grafts, a technique which later was used routinely in peripheral vascular surgery.