Publications

Sarikouch S, Boethig D, Avsar M, Ciubotaru A, Cheptanaru E, Cazacu A, Beerbaum P, Westhoff-Bleck M, Cebotari S, Tudorache I, Cvitkoviv T, Bobylev D, Ruhparwar A, Horke A. 20-year experience with decellularized pulmonary homografts for pulmonary valve replacement. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2026 Feb 6:ezag087. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezag087.

Cvitkovic T, Horke A, Bobylev D, Avsar M, Holst T, Beerbaum P, Boethig D, Petena E, Tsimashok V, Westhoff-Bleck M, Gutberlet M, Beyer FH, Wacker F, Ruhparwar A, Vogel-Claussen J, Sarikouch S, Czerner C. Aortic Compliance After Root Replacement With Decellularized Homografts Versus in Donor Age-Matched Healthy Controls.

Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2026 Jan 6;41(1):ivaf303.doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivaf303.

Avsar M, Cvitkovic T, Weymann A, Hoeffler K, Bobylev D, Boethig D, Ruhparwar A, Sarikouch S, Horke A. Subcoronary Implantation of Decellularized Aortic Allografts—An Ex Vivo and In Vivo Feasibility Study. Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports. Available online 22 January 2026

Andreeva A, Werner P, Coti I, Kocher A, Laufer G, Ehrlich M, Zimpfer D, Andreas M. Decellularized aortic homografts versus mechanical composite grafts for aortic root replacement. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2024 Aug 2;66(2):ezae314. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezae314. Decellularized aortic homografts versus mechanical composite grafts for aortic root replacement | European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery | Oxford Academic

Horke A, Tudorache I, Laufer G, Andreas M, Pomar JL, Pereda D, Quintana E, Sitges M, Meyns B, Rega F, Hazekamp M, Cesnjevar R, Schmiady M, Pepper J, Rosendahl U, Lichtenberg A, Stadnik D, Jashari R, Boethig D, Bobylev D, Avsar M, Ruhparwar A, Haverich A, Cebotari S, Sarikouch S. 5-year results from a prospective, single-arm European trial on decellularized allografts for aortic valve replacement – The ARISE Study and ARISE Registry Data. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2024 Mar 29;65(4):ezae121. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezae121. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/65/4/ezae121/7635581

Horke A, Bobylev D, Avsar M, Cvitkovic T, Meyns B, Rega F, Hazekamp M, Cesnjevar R, Schmiady M, Staebler B, Dewald O, Ciubotaru A, Michel-Behnke I, Zimpfer D, Jashari R, Boethig D, Cebotari S, Beerbaum P, Tudorache I, Sarikouch S. Paediatric aortic valve replacement using decellularized allografts: A multi-centre update following 143 implantations and 5-year mean follow-up. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2024 Mar 29;65(4):ezae112. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezae112. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/65/4/ezae112/7635578

Andreeva, A, Coti, I., Werner, P., Scherzer, S., Kocher, A., Laufer, G., Andreas, M. Aortic Valve Replacement in Adult Patients with Decellularized Homografts: A Single-Center Experience. J Clin Med. 2023 Oct 24;12(21):6713. doi: 10.3390/jcm12216713. IF 3.400 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/21/6713

Bobylev D, Horke A, Avsar M, Cvitkovic T, Boethig D, Hazekamp M, Meyns B, Rega F, Dave H, Schmiady M, Ciubotaru A, Cheptanaru E, Vida V, Padalino M, Tsang V, Jashari R, Laufer G, Andreas M, Andreeva A, Tudorache I, Cebotari S, Haverich A, Sarikouch S. Matched comparison of decellularized homografts and bovine jugular vein conduits for pulmonary valve replacement in congenital heart disease. Cell Tissue Bank. 2023 Mar 14. Online ahead of print. IF 1.939 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10561-023-10082-4

Bobylev D, Hysko K, Avsar M, Cvitkovic T, Petena E, Sarikouch S, Westhoff-Bleck M, Hansmann G, Haverich A, Horke A. Simultaneous aortic and pulmonary valve replacement in repaired congenital heart disease. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2023 Feb 23. doi: 10.1055/a-2041-3528. IF 1.756 https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2041-3528

Oripov F, Ramm R, Falk C, Goecke T, Ebken J, Jashari R, Böthig D, Horke A, Avsar M, Bobylev D, Haverich A, Hilfiker A and Sarikouch S. Serial assessment of early antibody binding to decellularized valved allografts. Front Cardiovasc Med, Section Heart Valve Disease, Online first, 09 August 2022, IF 5.846 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.895943/full

Cvitkovic T, Bobylev B, Horke A, Avsar M, Beerbaum P, Martens M , Böthig D , Petenà E, Gutberlet M, Beyer FH, Wacker F, Cebotari S, Haverich A, Vogel-Claussen J, Sarikouch S, Czerner C. 4D-flow cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after aortic root replacement with long-valved decellularized aortic homografts: comparison to valve-sparing aortic root replacement and healthy controls. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg . 2022 Jan 25; Online ahead of print. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/61/6/1307/6515397

Bobylev D, Horke A, Boethig D, Hazekamp M, Meyns B, Rega F, Dave H, Schmiady M, Ciubotaru A, Cheptanaru E, Vida V, Padalino M, Tsang V, Jashari R, Laufer G, Andreas M, Andreeva A, Tudorache I, Cebotari S, Haverich A, Sarikouch S. 5-Year results from the prospective European multi-centre study on decellularized homografts for pulmonary valve replacement ESPOIR Trial and ESPOIR Registry data. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg . 2022 Oct 4;62(5):ezac219. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/62/5/ezac219/6568944

Ramm R, Goecke T, Köhler P, Tudorache I, Cebotari S, Ciubotaru A, Sarikouch S, Höffler K, Bothe F, Petersen B, Haverich A, Niemann H, Hilfiker A. Immunological and functional features of decellularized xenogeneic heart valves after transplantation into GGTA1-KO pigs. Regen Biomater. 2021 Aug 3;8(5):rbab036. doi: 10.1093/rb/rbab036. eCollection 2021 Oct. IF 6.353 https://academic.oup.com/rb/article/8/5/rbab036/6336243

Ebken J, Mester N, Smart I, Ramm R, Goecke T, Jashari R, Böthig D, Horke A, Cebotari S, Tudorache I, Avsar M, Bobylev D, Haverich A, Sarikouch S and Andres Hilfiker. Residual immune response towards decellularized homografts may be highly individual. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2021 Apr 29;59(4):773-782. IF 3.967 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/59/4/773/6129147

Coti, I., Wenda, S., Andreeva, A., Kocher, A., Laufer, G., Fischer, G. Andreas, M. Donor-specific HLA antibodies after fresh decellularized vs cryopreserved native allograft implantation. HLA. 2020 Nov;96(5):580-588. doi: 10.1111/tan.14077. Epub 2020 Oct 13. IF 5.900 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tan.14077

Horke A, Bobylev D, Avsar M, Meyns B, Rega F, Hazekamp M, Hübler M, Schmiady M, Tzanavaros I, Cesnjevar R, Ciubotaru A, Laufer G, Zimpfer D, Jashari R, Boethig D, Cebotari S, Beerbaum P, Tudorache I, Haverich A, Sarikouch S. Pediatric aortic valve replacement using decellularized allografts. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2020 Oct 1;58(4):817-824. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/58/4/817/5842228

Horke A, Tudorache I, Laufer G, Andreas M, Pomar JL, Pereda D, Quintana E, Sitges M, Meyns B, Rega F, Hazekamp M, Hübler M, Schmiady M, Pepper J, Rosendahl U, Lichtenberg A, Akhyari P, Jashari R, Boethig D, Bobylev D, Avsar M, Cebotari S, Haverich A, Sarikouch S. Early results from a prospective, single-arm European trial on decellularized allografts for aortic valve replacement – The ARISE Study and ARISE Registry Data. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2020 Nov 1;58(5):1045-1053. IF 4.534 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/58/5/1045/5835338

Ramm R, Goecke T, Theodoridis K, Hoeffler K, Sarikouch S, Findeisen K, Ciubotaru A, Cebotari S, Tudorache I, Haverich A, Hilfiker A. Decellularization combined with enzymatic removal of N-linked glycans and residual DNA reduces inflammatory response and improves performance of porcine xenogeneic pulmonary heart valves in an ovine in vivo model. Xenotransplantation. 2019 Nov 26:e12571. doi: 10.1111/xen.12571. IF 4.717 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/xen.12571

Sarikouch S, Theodoridis K, Hilfiker A, Boethig D, Laufer G, Andreas M, Cebotari S, Tudorache I, Bobylev D, Neubert L, Teiken K, Robertus JL, Jonigk D, Beerbaum P, Haverich A, Horke A. Early Insight into In-vivo recellularization of cell-free allogenic heart valves. Ann Thorac Surg. 2019 Aug;108(2):581-589. IF 3.779 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000349751930414X?via%3Dihub

Boethig D, Horke A, Hazekamp M, Meyns B, Rega F, Van Puyvelde J, Hübler M, Schmiady M, Ciubotaru A, Stellin G, Padalino M, Tsang V, Jashari R, Bobylev D, Tudorache I, Cebotari S, Haverich A, Sarikouch S. A European study on decellularized homografts for pulmonary valve replacement: initial results from the prospective ESPOIR Trial and ESPOIR Registry data. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2019 Sep 1;56(3):503-509. IF 3.967 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/56/3/503/5382130

Bobylev D, Sarikouch S, Tudorache I, Cvitkovic T, Söylen B, Boethig D, Theodoridis K, Bertram H, Beerbaum P, Haverich A, Cebotari S, Horke A. Double semilunar valve replacement in complex congenital heart disease using decellularized homografts. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2019 Jan 1;28(1):151-157. IF 1.857 https://academic.oup.com/icvts/article/28/1/151/5054724

Iablonskii P, Cebotari S, Ciubotaru A, Sarikouch S, Hoeffler K, Hilfiker A, Haverich A, Tudorache I. Decellularized mitral valve in a long-term sheep model. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2018 Jun 1;53(6):1165-1172. IF 3.759 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/53/6/1165/4828177

Goecke T, Theodoridis K, Tudorache I, Ciubotaru A, Cebotari S, Ramm R, Höffler K, Sarikouch S, Vásquez-Rivera A, Haverich A, Wolkers WF, Hilfiker A. In vivo performance of freeze-dried decellularized pulmonary heart valve allo- and xenografts orthotopically implanted into juvenile sheep. Acta Biomater. 2018 Mar 1;68:41-52. IF 6.319 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1742706117307341?via%3Dihub

Theodoridis K, Tudorache I, Cebotari S, Meyer T, Calistru A, Sarikouch S, Bara C, Haverich A, Hilfiker A. 6-year old Sheep as a Clinically Relevant Large Animal Model for Aortic Valve Replacement using Tissue-Engineered Grafts Based on Decellularized Allogenic Matrix. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2017 Dec;23(12):953-963. IF 2.700 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ten.tec.2017.0163?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed

Böer U, Buettner FF, Schridde A, Klingenberg M, Sarikouch S, Haverich A, Wilhelmi M. Antibody formation towards porcine tissue in patients implanted with crosslinked heart valves is directed to antigenic tissue proteins and αGal epitopes and is reduced in healthy vegetarian subjects. Xenotransplantation. 2017 Jan 18. IF 3.961 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/xen.12288

Tudorache I, Horke A, Cebotari S, Sarikouch S, Boethig D, Breymann T, Beerbaum P, Bertram H, Westhoff-Bleck M, Theodoridis K, Bobylev D, Cheptanaru E, Ciubotaru A, Haverich A. Decellularized aortic homografts for aortic valve and aorta ascendens replacement. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2016 Jul;50(1):89-97. IF 3.759 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/50/1/89/1748870

Tudorache I, Theodoridis K, Baraki H, Sarikouch S, Bara C, Meyer T, Höffler K, Hartung D, Hilfiker A, Haverich A2, Cebotari S. Decellularized aortic allografts versus pulmonary autografts for aortic valve replacement in the growing sheep model: haemodynamic and morphological results at 20 months after implantation. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2016 Apr;49(4):1228-38. IF 3.759 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/49/4/1228/2465470

Sarikouch S, Horke A, Tudorache I, Beerbaum P, Westhoff-Bleck M, Boethig D, Repin O, Maniuc L, Ciubotaru A, Haverich, Cebotari S A. Decellularized fresh homografts for pulmonary valve replacement: a decade of clinical experience. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2016 Aug;50(2):281-9. IF 3.759 https://academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/50/2/281/2237759

Boer U, Schridde A, Anssar A, Klingenberg M, Sarikouch S, Dellmann A, Harringer W, Haverich A, Wilhelmi M. The immune response to crosslinked tissue is reduced in decellularized xenogeneic and absent in decellularized allogeneic heart valves. Int J Artif Organs. 2015 Apr 21:199-209. IF 1.169 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5301/ijao.5000395?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Theodoridis K, Tudorache I, Calistru A, Meyer T, CebotariS, Sarikouch S, Bara C, Brehm R, Haverich A, Hilfiker A. Successful matrix guided tissue regeneration of decellularized pulmonary heart valve allografts in elderly sheep. Biomaterials. 2015 Jun;52:221-8. IF 8.402 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961215001337?via%3Dihub

Neumann A, Sarikouch S*, Breymann T, Cebotari S, Boethig D, Horke A, Beerbaum P, Westhoff-Bleck M, Harald B, Ono M, Tudorache I, Haverich A, Beutel G. Early systemic cellular immune response in children and young adults receiving decellularized fresh allografts for pulmonary valve replacement. Tissue Eng Part A. 2014 Mar;20(5-6):1003-11. IF 3.485 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ten.TEA.2013.0316?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Tudorache I, Calistru A, Baraki H, Meyer T, Höffler K, Sarikouch S, Bara C, Hartung D, Görler A, Hilfiker A, Haverich A, Cebotari S. Orthotopic replacement of aortic heart valves with tissue engineered grafts. Tissue Eng Part A. 2013 Aug;19(15-16):1686-94. IF 3.485 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ten.tea.2012.0074?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Cebotari S, Tudorache I, Ciubotaru A, Boethig D, Sarikouch S, Goerler A, Lichtenberg A, Cheptanaru E, Barnaciuc S, Cazacu A, Maliga O, Repin O, Maniuc L, Breymann T, Haverich A. Use of fresh decellularized allografts for pulmonary valve replacement may reduce the reoperation rate in children and young adults: early report. Circulation. 2011 Sep 13;124(11 Suppl):S115-23. IF 19.309 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.012161?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed