Patient Experience
I'm a 72-year-old retired history teacher who had been struggling with increasingly blurred vision for years, making reading my beloved books nearly impossible. My previous doctor had mentioned cataracts but seemed dismissive of my concerns about the surgery. Dr. Banu Coşar was entirely different. During my initial consultation at Acibadem Maslak, she didn't just look at my eyes; she asked about my daily life, my hobbies, and my fears. She explained the multifocal lens option in such clear, patient terms, drawing diagrams on her notepad. The surgery itself felt like a brief, gentle procedure. Now, three months later, I can read fine print without glasses and see the individual leaves on trees again. Her follow-up care has been meticulous. She possesses that rare combination of supreme skill and profound humanity.
Our 8-year-old daughter, Elif, developed a sudden, pronounced inward turn in her right eye after a minor fall. We were terrified it was something permanent. The pediatric emergency department referred us directly to Dr. Coşar. What could have been a traumatic experience for a child was handled with incredible grace. She had a way of speaking directly to Elif, not down to her, using a small teddy bear to demonstrate what was happening with her eye muscles. She diagnosed a case of acute acquired comitant esotropia and recommended prism glasses and vision therapy instead of immediately jumping to surgery. She coordinated with a wonderful therapist. After six months of treatment, the misalignment is completely corrected. Dr. Coşar turned our panic into a manageable journey, and Elif now says she wants to be an eye doctor 'like the nice lady.'
As a 45-year-old software developer, my routine checkup with Dr. Coşar took an unexpected turn. I mentioned occasional 'floaters' and what I thought were random flashes of light, attributing it to screen fatigue. She performed a incredibly thorough dilated examination and discovered a small, peripheral retinal tear in my left eye—something I had no real symptoms for. She explained the risk of retinal detachment with calm urgency and recommended a preventive laser barricade procedure the very next day. The procedure at Acibadem Maslak was quick, precise, and painless. This wasn't a planned surgery; it was preventive care of the highest order. She likely saved me from a major emergency down the line. Her proactive, detail-oriented approach is literally vision-saving.
My case was complex: a failed previous corneal transplant from another clinic that had become cloudy and vascularized, leaving me with light perception only. I had visited several renowned professors who were hesitant to intervene. Dr. Banu Coşar reviewed my dense file and spent an hour examining my eye with various advanced imaging devices. She presented a multi-stage plan: first, a procedure to clear the abnormal blood vessels, then a wait for quietude, and finally a repeat corneal transplant with very specific suturing techniques. She was honest about the risks but confident in the staged approach. The entire process took over a year, with her monitoring every subtle change. Today, I have 20/40 vision with glasses. The skill required for this is monumental, but it was her strategic patience and unwavering commitment through the long follow-up period that made the difference. She restored not just my sight, but my hope.