M.D. Ilksen Özlü

As an 82-year-old with chronic kidney issues, I needed a very specific renal artery doppler ultrasound. Most radiologists rush through it, but Dr. Özlü was different. She spent extra time explaining the gel would be cold, adjusted the table height for my comfort, and used a special low-pressure technique I'd never seen. She even called my nephrologist during the exam to clarify a finding. Her report was so detailed it became the reference for my entire care team. This wasn't just a scan; it was compassionate, precision medicine.

Our 4-year-old son fractured his elbow in a playground fall. The emergency room was chaotic, and he was terrified of the 'big camera.' Dr. Özlü met us not in the dark reading room, but in the pediatric imaging area. She had a small toy model of the CT scanner and showed him how it worked, letting him press the pretend button. She performed a low-dose pediatric protocol I later learned she helped develop. Her report highlighted not just the fracture, but noted a subtle joint effusion the ER doctor had missed, changing his treatment plan. She turned trauma into trust.

I'm a 45-year-old architect with no symptoms, here for a routine low-dose lung CT screening due to family history. Dr. Özlü didn't just read the scan; she invited me to view the images together. Using 3D reconstruction software, she 'flew through' my own airways, pointing out anatomy like a tour guide. She found a 2mm ground-glass nodule, statistically benign, but created a personalized follow-up algorithm based on my specific risk factors, not just textbook guidelines. She gave me a USB drive with my images and a layman's report. She transformed a checkup into a masterclass in my own health.

Following complex spinal fusion surgery at another hospital, I had worsening leg pain. My surgeon was stumped. Dr. Özlü reviewed my messy stack of prior MRIs and said, 'The answer isn't in the new bone growth; it's in the forgotten scar tissue.' She designed a novel, two-part MR neurography protocol focused on the nerve roots beyond the surgical hardware. The images revealed a rare tethering of the L5 nerve in postoperative fibrosis—completely missed before. She didn't just send a report; she drew a color-coded surgical map for my revision surgeon. Her detective work in radiology ended two years of diagnostic purgatory.