Assoc. Prof. M.D. Ece Uysal

As a 72-year-old retired cartographer, my world was shrinking due to debilitating trigeminal neuralgia. The electric shock pains made eating and speaking unbearable. Dr. Uysal didn't just see a medical chart; she saw a man who missed sketching maps. Her precise microvascular decompression surgery was like redrawing my neural pathways. The morning I could enjoy my wife's baklava without flinching was a sweetness beyond sugar.

My 8-year-old daughter, Elif, developed a rare arachnoid cyst that was affecting her balance and speech. We were terrified of brain surgery on a child. Dr. Uysal met with Elif first, speaking to her about her favorite cartoon characters, not the procedure. She used a minimally invasive endoscopic fenestration. Post-surgery, Dr. Uysal brought Elif a stuffed animal wearing a tiny surgeon's cap. Today, Elif is back in gymnastics, and we have a neurosurgeon who treated our child's spirit as carefully as her brain.

I'm a 34-year-old competitive freediver. After a shallow water blackout, scans revealed an incidental, asymptomatic cavernoma. Other surgeons advised 'watchful waiting.' Dr. Uysal, understanding the extreme pressure changes my body endures, presented a detailed risk analysis specific to apnea diving. We chose a proactive, image-guided resection. Her approach was as calculated and precise as my dive plans. I returned to the depths nine months later, confident my mind was as prepared as my lungs.

Our father, 81, suffered a traumatic acute subdural hematoma after a fall in his woodworking shop. It was a midnight emergency. Dr. Uysal's calm authority in the chaos was our anchor. She performed a lifesaving craniotomy but also took time to explain the 'why' behind every decision to our anxious family. Her focus wasn't just on saving his life, but on preserving the person he was. He's back in his shop, carving small birds, his memory and hands steady.