Prof. M.D. Elif Ilgaz Aydınlar

My 8-year-old son developed sudden, terrifying tics and vocalizations overnight. Our local doctor mentioned 'maybe Tourette's' and we were shattered. Dr. Elif Ilgaz Aydınlar was our beacon. She didn't just observe; she engaged him in conversation about his favorite video games, watching his movements subtly. She diagnosed Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), triggered by a strep infection we didn't know he had. Her treatment plan—antibiotics and a specific anti-inflammatory protocol—was like watching a fog lift. She spoke to my son, not just to us. He now calls her 'the brain detective.' We traveled from Antalya for her, and every kilometer was worth it.

As a 72-year-old former engineer with essential tremor, I'd accepted my fate: spilled tea and illegible handwriting. My previous neurologist just adjusted my old medication. Dr. Aydınlar did something radical: she listened to the history of my tremor for 40 minutes, then asked about my woodworking hobby. 'Your tremor is action-specific, not at rest,' she noted. She proposed focused ultrasound thalamotomy, a non-invasive procedure I'd never heard of. At Acibadem Maslak, her team performed it. I felt nothing but a slight vibration. The next morning, I held a glass of water steady for the first time in a decade. She gave me back my precise hands. Her approach is not maintenance; it's restoration.

It started with a bizarre smell of burnt rubber, then a blank stare during a business meeting. I'm 45 and thought I was having a stroke. The ER found nothing. Dr. Aydınlar, in our first consultation, reviewed my MRI pixel by pixel. She found a minute cortical dysplasia—a tiny brain malformation. 'Your brain has been wiring around this since childhood,' she explained. She recommended a tailored laser ablation surgery, not the full lobectomy others suggested. The surgery was precise, guided by her mapping. Post-op, she personally checked on me at midnight. I've been seizure-free for 18 months. She treats the person, not just the scan, with a combination of fierce intellect and profound humanity.

My follow-up visit for chronic migraine was unlike any other. Dr. Aydınlar remembered from six months prior that I was a pianist. Instead of just asking about pain frequency, she asked, 'Can you play the demanding passages in the Rachmaninoff now?' She correlated my aura symptoms with specific musical keys I'd mentioned. She adjusted my preventive treatment based on that and new research on calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibitors she'd just reviewed. She then spent 10 minutes explaining the neurobiology of music perception and migraine to satisfy my curiosity. She doesn't just prescribe; she educates and connects the science to the fabric of your life. She's a scientist and a healer in one.