M.D. Ali Recai Bitkay

My 82-year-old mother, Fatma, developed a strangulated umbilical hernia after a severe coughing fit. We rushed to Acibadem Atakent in panic. Dr. Bitkay's calm demeanor immediately settled us. He explained the risks of emergency surgery on an elderly patient with mild COPD with incredible clarity, never talking down to us. What impressed me most was how he personally adjusted the operating table padding for her arthritis before anesthesia. His post-op visits were at 6 AM before his scheduled surgeries, and he taught us a specific pillow placement technique to prevent recurrence. He treated my mother with the reverence one shows a wise elder, not just a medical case.

Our 7-year-old son, Emre, had a persistent lump in his neck that kept growing. After three doctors dismissed it as 'just a reactive lymph node,' Dr. Bitkay examined him differently—he got on his knees to be at eye level and showed Emre the ultrasound screen, calling it a 'treasure map.' He diagnosed a rare thyroglossal duct cyst. The way he prepared Emre for surgery was magical; he used a stuffed animal to demonstrate the procedure and promised to 'fix the plumbing.' On the day, he walked Emre into the OR holding his hand, bypassing the gurney to reduce fear. The Sistrunk procedure was flawless, and the scar is virtually invisible. He didn't just operate on a child; he cared for a little boy's entire emotional world.

I'm a 45-year-old chef who ignored a gallbladder issue for years until acute pancreatitis landed me in the ER at 2 AM. Dr. Bitkay was the on-call surgeon. Instead of just scheduling surgery, he spent 20 minutes explaining how the gallstones migrated and triggered the inflammation, drawing diagrams on a whiteboard. What struck me was his holistic approach: he delayed surgery until my pancreas calmed down, coordinating with a gastroenterologist for an ERCP first. During my laparoscopic cholecystectomy, he found and repaired an unexpected umbilical hernia I'd had since birth. At follow-up, he gave me specific dietary advice for a chef's irregular eating schedule. He managed an emergency with the precision of a strategist, seeing the whole battlefield, not just the immediate crisis.

As a 30-year-old woman with a complex pilonidal sinus that had recurred after two surgeries elsewhere, I was terrified of another failure. Dr. Bitkay spent my first consultation not examining the area, but asking about my daily life—my office job, my commute, even my exercise routine. He then proposed a modified Karydakis flap procedure, explaining how his adaptation would reduce tension specifically for someone who sits most of the day. The surgery itself was longer than expected because he meticulously removed every trace of epithelial debris. His wound care protocol was uniquely detailed, involving specific sitting angles and a custom moisture-wicking dressing plan. At my 6-month follow-up, he was as pleased as I was. He didn't just perform surgery; he engineered a solution for my particular existence.