Op. MD. Yucel Polat

My 82-year-old father, who has both diabetes and COPD, needed a triple bypass. Other surgeons were hesitant due to his age and comorbidities. Dr. Polat didn't see a patient with 'risks', he saw my father, Mehmet. He explained the hybrid approach he envisioned, using minimally invasive techniques where possible. The surgery lasted 7 hours. What stays with me is Dr. Polat coming out, not just to say it went well, but to show us a diagram of exactly what he did. Dad was walking the corridor on day three. At the 6-month follow-up, Dr. Polat remembered Dad's fondness for chess and asked if his concentration had improved. It's this holistic, human-centric expertise that defines him.

Our 9-year-old son, Efe, was a vibrant football player until he started fainting during practice. Diagnosed with a rare congenital coronary artery anomaly, we were terrified. Dr. Polat's clinic felt different, he had a small toy heart model. He knelt to Efe's level and said, 'We need to move a tiny road in your heart so your engine runs better for football.' He used the arterial switch procedure tailored for Efe's anatomy. The pre-op anxiety was mitigated by Dr. Polat's team, who let Efe 'drive' the hospital bed to the OR. Post-surgery, Dr. Polat's follow-ups included checking Efe's scar not just medically, but asking if it felt 'cool enough for his friends.' Efe is back on the pitch, and we have our miracle.

I'm a 47-year-old marathon runner. During a routine sports medicine checkup, a stress echo revealed an asymptomatic but critical aortic stenosis, a 'ticking time bomb,' as one doctor said. My world collapsed. Dr. Polat reviewed my case and proposed a Ross Procedure, replacing my aortic valve with my own pulmonary valve. 'For an active person like you, this means no blood thinners and a near-normal valve life,' he explained. The technical detail was immense, but he drew parallels to the precision and endurance of marathon training. The surgery was flawless. At my 3-month post-op, I was on a treadmill in his office, and he high-fived me when my stats were perfect. He didn't just fix a valve; he preserved my identity as an athlete.

It was a Tuesday night emergency. My husband, 58, had a dissecting aortic aneurysm, shearing pain, collapsing. The ER team called Dr. Polat at home. He was in the hospital within 25 minutes, reviewed the CT scan, and said to me, 'We have no time, but we have a plan. I will take care of him.' The surgery was an open-heart marathon, replacing part of the aorta. Dr. Polat updated me twice during the night himself, not through a nurse. In the ICU days that followed, his focus was on preventing the myriad possible complications, neurological, renal, infection. He was a relentless guardian. At discharge, he gave us his direct line. 'This isn't over; the follow-up is part of the surgery,' he said. That was 18 months ago. My husband is here because of Dr. Polat's decisive skill and profound ownership of the entire crisis.