Prof. M.D. Erkin Aribal

I'm an 82-year-old woman who discovered a lump during a bath. Terrified of hospitals, I delayed for weeks until the pain became unbearable. Dr. Erkin Aribal didn't just see a patient; he saw a frightened grandmother. He explained everything using simple metaphors—comparing the ultrasound to a submarine sonar, the biopsy to a tiny bee sting. His hands were steady during the procedure, but his voice was even steadier, telling me stories about Istanbul's old gardens to distract me. The cyst was benign, but his kindness was genuinely therapeutic. At Acibadem Altunizade, they treated my anxiety with the same care as my breast.

Our 14-year-old daughter developed a massive, painful gynecomastia that made her refuse school. Pediatricians dismissed it as 'teenage changes.' Dr. Aribal was the first to take her seriously, speaking directly to her, not just to us parents. He designed a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, explaining how the tiny incisions would be hidden. The day after surgery, she smiled for the first time in months. His follow-up protocol included coordinating with a pediatric endocrinologist to address the hormonal root cause. He didn't just perform surgery; he restored a teenager's confidence during her most vulnerable years.

A ruptured breast implant from a procedure done abroad 15 years ago sent me into septic shock at 3 AM. The ER team at Acibadem stabilized me, but the complex revision fell to Dr. Aribal. He faced a surgical nightmare: severe capsular contracture, silicone migration, and active infection. He spent hours in the OR meticulously removing every particle of silicone and infected tissue, then performed immediate reconstruction using a novel biological mesh technique. His post-op visits were at unconventional hours, checking the flaps himself. He salvaged not just the breast but prevented a life-threatening systemic infection. This wasn't routine surgery; it was rescue archaeology on a living body.

As a 28-year-old with the BRCA1 gene mutation, my 'routine' preventative consultation felt like a death sentence. Dr. Aribal re-framed it entirely. He presented my risk assessment not as statistics, but as a timeline of control, mapping out surveillance versus surgery options across a hypothetical 50-year lifespan. He used 3D imaging to show exactly how a nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction would look, even adjusting the simulation to match my athletic physique. His approach was neither rushed nor pressured. He scheduled a separate session just for my partner's questions. We left not with fear, but with a clear, personalized roadmap—a rare gift of certainty in an uncertain genetic landscape.