Patient Experience
My 82-year-old mother, Fatma, developed a sudden, severe tremor in her right hand that made eating impossible. Other clinics dismissed it as 'old age.' Dr. Yılmaz was different. He spent an hour just listening to her describe the feeling, 'like a bird trapped in my bones,' she said. He diagnosed a rare thalamic tremor, not Parkinson's. His proposed focused ultrasound treatment sounded like science fiction to us, but he explained it with sketches on his tablet, showing how sound waves could fix the problem without cutting her open. The procedure was done awake, and by the end, the tremor was 90% gone. He didn't just treat a symptom; he gave my mother her dignity and independence back. His team at Liv Bahçeşehir was incredibly gentle with her. We are forever grateful.
Our 7-year-old son, Deniz, took a bad fall off his scooter. The ER scan showed a small but worrying skull fracture near his temple. The on-call neurosurgeon was Dr. Yılmaz. What struck us immediately was how he knelt down to Deniz's eye level, showed him the brain scan on the big screen, and called it 'a tiny crack in your superhero helmet.' He explained to us, with terrifying clarity, the risks of a growing epidural hematoma, but his calm, methodical plan was reassuring. He admitted Deniz for 48-hour observation, personally checking on him every few hours, even at midnight. No surgery was needed in the end, but his vigilance prevented a potential catastrophe. He turned our nightmare into a careful, monitored experience. We trust him with our child's brain completely.
I'm a 45-year-old software engineer with a decade of debilitating trigeminal neuralgia, the so-called 'suicide disease.' I'd had two failed surgeries elsewhere. My face was a prison of pain. Dr. Yılmaz reviewed my complex history and didn't promise a miracle. Instead, he proposed a meticulous re-exploration and possible microvascular decompression, acknowledging the scar tissue from prior operations would make it 'like navigating a forest after a fire.' The surgery lasted over 6 hours. When I woke up, the electric shock pain was gone. The follow-up has been just as thorough; he adjusts my medication by the milligram and answers my anxious emails himself. He doesn't see me as a 'case' but as a person reclaiming a life. His expertise in complex revision surgery is, in my experience, unparalleled.
I went to Dr. Yılmaz for what I thought was a routine follow-up for my cervical disc herniation. During the consultation, while I was casually mentioning some new, mild clumsiness in my left foot, he became intensely focused. He conducted a detailed neurological exam right then and there, having me walk on my heels, testing reflexes I didn't know existed. He was concerned about subtle spinal cord compression. His insistence on an urgent, advanced MRI revealed a developing syrinx (a fluid-filled cavity) in my spinal cord, a serious complication I knew nothing about. His proactive detection and immediate plan for a minimally invasive decompression likely prevented permanent nerve damage. What amazed me was his ability to hear the 'whisper' of a problem amidst the 'noise' of my chronic condition. He is a true diagnostician and guardian.