Prof. M.D. K. Latif Abbasoğlu

Our 3-day-old newborn, Elif, was diagnosed with esophageal atresia—a terrifying diagnosis that felt like our world was ending. Dr. Abbasoğlu met us in the NICU at Acibadem Bakirkoy with a calm that immediately settled our panic. He didn't just explain the thoracoscopic repair; he drew diagrams on a tissue paper, showing how he'd connect her esophagus without a large incision. The surgery lasted 4 hours; he came out with sweat on his brow but a smile. 'She's perfect,' he said. Two weeks later, Elif took her first full bottle. His hands aren't just skilled; they're gentle enough for a 2kg baby. We call him our miracle worker.

My 72-year-old father, a retired ship captain, needed an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy while visiting me in Istanbul. We were terrified—his age, his mild heart condition. Dr. Abbasoğlu handled him not as an 'elderly case' but as a dignified man. 'Captain,' he said, 'we'll navigate this storm together.' He coordinated with cardiology, performed the surgery at 11 PM, and personally checked on him every two hours overnight. His follow-up was meticulous, adjusting pain management for my father's sensitivity. The respect he showed transformed a scary emergency into an experience my father now recounts with pride. A surgeon who sees the person, not just the pathology.

Our 8-year-old son, Deniz, had a complex, recurrent pilonidal sinus that three previous surgeries elsewhere had failed to fix. We were desperate and skeptical. Dr. Abbasoğlu spent 45 minutes just examining the scar tissue, then proposed a modified Karydakis flap procedure we'd never heard of. What struck us was his collaborative approach—he showed us published studies on his tablet. The surgery was longer than expected because he took extra care to remove every trace of infected tissue. His post-op visits were almost artistic; he'd inspect the wound with a magnifying glass. Six months later, not a sign of recurrence. He didn't just operate; he solved a puzzle others had abandoned.

For our daughter's routine umbilical hernia repair at age 4, we expected a quick, impersonal process. Dr. Abbasoğlu transformed it. He knelt to talk to Zeynep about her stuffed rabbit, suggesting the rabbit had a similar 'belly button story' that needed fixing. He used a nerve block technique that meant she woke up with zero pain. But the extraordinary part was the discharge: he gave us his personal number for 'any silly question at 3 AM,' and when we nervously called about a redness, he answered immediately, asked for a photo via WhatsApp, and reassured us within minutes. A routine procedure became a lesson in compassionate, patient-centered care that has changed how we view medicine entirely.