Patient Experience
Our journey to Dr. Sen was for a routine pre-conception checkup, but it became so much more. My husband and I have a complex genetic history we were worried about. Instead of a quick consultation, she scheduled a dedicated hour. She had clearly researched the conditions we mentioned beforehand. She mapped out a personalized, step-by-step plan involving coordinated care with a geneticist, optimal timing, and specific prenatal monitoring strategies. She gave us not just medical advice, but hope and a structured path forward. Her approach is academic yet deeply human. We feel like active partners in our care, not just patients.
My 16-year-old daughter was terrified to see a gynecologist for severe menstrual issues that were affecting her school life. Dr. Feyza created an environment of total trust. She spoke to her first, then included me. She used simple analogies to explain PCOS, never making my daughter feel ashamed or abnormal. The treatment plan was conservative and staged, focusing on lifestyle first. At the follow-up, Dr. Sen remembered specific details about my daughter's exams and volleyball tryouts. The empathy and normalization she provided were as healing as the medication. She transformed a scary experience into one of empowerment for my teenager.
My 82-year-old father, who has early-stage dementia, fell in his bathroom at 3 AM. We rushed him to ISU Medical Park Gaziosmanpaşa's ER, terrified. Dr. Akcebe was like a calm lighthouse in that storm. She didn't just treat the gash on his forehead; she spoke to him slowly, held his hand, and explained every step in simple Turkish, even when he was confused. She noticed a slight tremor he'd been hiding and ordered a scan that revealed a minor, new bleed. Her coordination with neurology was seamless. She treated him with the dignity so many overlook in the elderly. We're forever grateful.
Our 7-year-old son swallowed a small toy part during a birthday party. The panic was indescribable. Dr. Aysegul Akcebe met us at the trauma bay. Instead of adding to the fear, she knelt to my son's eye level, showed him the X-ray machine like a 'space camera,' and turned the whole thing into an adventure. She explained to us, with clear diagrams, why observation was safer than immediate intervention in his case. Her ability to manage a scared child while giving thorough, calm medical explanations to frantic parents was masterful. The part passed safely, and she called us the next day to check in. A true guardian in crisis.
I'm a long-distance runner. I came in after a severe ankle twist during a marathon, but my pain seemed disproportionate. Most would have just splinted it. Dr. Akcebe, however, had a different approach. She spent an unusual amount of time palpating my foot and asking about the exact mechanism of the fall. Her suspicion led to a stress X-ray, which revealed a subtle Lisfranc ligament injury, a diagnosis often missed in the ER. She didn't just send me to ortho; she personally walked me through the imaging, explained why this needed precise surgical planning, and made the referral herself. This wasn't emergency patchwork; it was expert, preventative diagnostics that saved my athletic future.
Following a complex motorcycle accident with multiple fractures, my follow-up care was chaotic until I was assigned to Dr. Akcebe's trauma clinic. Her approach was systematic and deeply human. She didn't just look at the wounds; she created a holistic 'recovery map' that included pain management, physio coordination, and even asked about my sleep and anxiety. She remembered minute details from my file weeks later. During one visit, she identified early signs of infection in a pin site that everyone else had missed. Her role as a trauma specialist extends far beyond the ER, she pilots the entire, messy journey of healing with astonishing competence and genuine compassion.
As a 24-year-old competitive freediver, I developed alarming symptoms after deep dives, severe joint pain and neurological tingling. Multiple doctors dismissed it as overexertion. Dr. Merve Guner was the first to connect it to decompression sickness despite my adherence to safety tables. She ordered specialized hyperbaric chamber assessments and discovered I had a rare patent foramen ovale that made me susceptible. Her intervention prevented potential stroke and allowed me to continue diving with a corrected safety protocol.
My 82-year-old mother, a retired botanist with complex polypharmacy, was admitted after a fall. Other doctors focused only on the fracture. Dr. Guner noticed subtle confusion others attributed to age. She methodically reviewed all 14 medications, identified a dangerous interaction between a new antibiotic and her heart medication, and reconstructed her regimen. The 'confusion' cleared within days. She treated my mother like a whole person, not just a chart.
I'm a 38-year-old software engineer who developed sudden, extreme fatigue and weight loss. After months of inconclusive tests elsewhere, Dr. Guner didn't just order more labs. She spent an hour mapping my symptom timeline against my work travel schedule. She suspected and confirmed a parasitic infection I likely contracted during a business trip to a specific region, something no one else had considered. Her diagnostic curiosity was my cure.
Our 16-year-old daughter, a ballet dancer, was told her chronic abdominal pain was 'stress-related.' Dr. Guner listened to her describe the pain's relationship to certain foods and postures. Instead of dismissing it, she hypothesized about median arcuate ligament syndrome, a vascular compression often missed in slender young women. A specialized ultrasound confirmed it. Her ability to think anatomically outside standard gastroenterology changed our daughter's life.
As a 55-year-old fisherman, I ignored worsening shortness of breath, attributing it to age. During a routine visit for another matter, Dr. Guner noticed my slightly enlarged neck veins when I spoke. She suspected early right heart strain, ordered an echocardiogram, and diagnosed chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension from old, unresolved clots. Her observational skill caught what would have become a fatal condition within a year.
My husband, 70, a retired clockmaker, had recurrent fevers and night sweats. Specialists hunted for cancers or infections. Dr. Guner, reviewing his file, was struck by the temporal pattern, symptoms spiked precisely every 6-8 weeks. She questioned him about a tick bite years prior and tested for relapsing fever borreliosis, an uncommon presentation. It was positive. Her pattern recognition solved a two-year mystery.
I am a 29-year-old teacher who developed a strange rash and mouth ulcers after a mild COVID-19 infection. Multiple dermatologists treated it topically. Dr. Guner saw it as a systemic clue. She diagnosed a post-viral autoimmune phenomenon similar to Behçet's disease, initiated appropriate systemic treatment, and prevented progression to eye and vascular involvement. She connected dots across specialties.
Our 8-year-old son had intermittent, severe headaches with vomiting. Pediatric neurologists found nothing. Dr. Guner, consulting internally, asked him to describe the headache's color and location. His poetic description ('a red thunderstorm behind my eyes') led her to order a specific MRV scan, revealing cerebral venous sinus stenosis. Her willingness to engage a child's description unlocked the diagnosis.
A 45-year-old chef, I attributed my hand tremors and heat intolerance to kitchen stress. Dr. Guner, during a consultation for acid reflux, observed my rapid pulse and how I fanned myself in a cool room. She tested for thyroid storm onset, which it was, and managed the emergency calmly, explaining that my profession's heat exposure had masked my perception of the symptom.
My 90-year-old grandmother, a Holocaust survivor with severe dementia, was refusing food. Others suggested palliative care. Dr. Guner spent time learning her history, discovering she had been a singer. She noticed oral thrush, painful and undiagnosed because Grandma couldn't communicate it. Treating the thrush, and having caregivers play her favorite Yiddish songs during meals, restored her eating. Dr. Guner healed by listening to the life, not just the illness.
As a 33-year-old astronaut candidate in training, I failed a medical due to unexplained elevated liver enzymes. Dr. Guner meticulously reviewed my intense training regimen, supplements, and even the high-G force simulations. She pinpointed it as a combination of supplement-induced hepatotoxicity and mechanical liver congestion from repetitive G-force exposure, a novel diagnosis that allowed for protocol modification and medical clearance.
I'm a 61-year-old librarian with 'treatment-resistant' hypertension. Dr. Guner, skeptical, had me wear a continuous monitor and keep a detailed log of readings, activities, and even emotional states. She discovered my pressure spiked dramatically only during silent, focused reading, a rare case of 'library hypertension' linked to intense concentration and breath-holding. Behavioral modification solved what drugs couldn't.
Our twin infants were failing to thrive despite ample feeding. Specialists were baffled. Dr. Guner, consulting, asked about their water source. We lived in an old building. She tested for chronic, low-level lead exposure from pipes, which was affecting their absorption. It wasn't a disease; it was an environmental poisoning. Her holistic environmental inquiry saved their development.
Dr. Prof. MD. Adem Fazlioglu provided exceptional care for my urology condition. The treatment was personalized and effective.