Ursula Tochtermann

Dr. Ursula Tochtermann is a Senior Physician in the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital and heads the Interdisciplinary Marfan Center, where she coordinates clinical care and quality management for patients with heritable connective-tissue disorders. With more than two decades of academic cardiac surgery experience, she has published extensively on aortic pathology, mechanical circulatory support, and peri-operative risk modelling.

Research interests cluster around three domains: (i) complex aortic surgery, including the frozen-elephant-trunk technique and root reconstruction in Marfan syndrome; (ii) temporary and long-term mechanical circulatory support with ECMO, LVADs and paracorporeal pulsatile devices; and (iii) electrophysiological and pharmacological strategies for atrial fibrillation, focusing on ion-channel biology. Her work frequently bridges surgical innovation and translational physiology.

Across >50 peer-reviewed articles since 1990, a clear trend emerges toward prospective surgical techniques, device-based circulatory support, and multidisciplinary management of rare cardiovascular disorders. She has contributed to risk-score analyses (EuroSCORE) and to first-in-human regenerative approaches for valve tissue-engineering.

Dr. Tochtermann currently leads the Marfan Center’s interdisciplinary board, uniting cardiac surgeons, geneticists, ophthalmologists and obstetricians to provide guideline-driven, life-long aortic surveillance. No external funding disclosures or named trainee lists are supplied in the source text.