Prof. M.D. Mert Erkan

I brought my 4-year-old son in for what I thought was just a stubborn bellyache. Dr. Erkan at Acibadem Atasehir had this incredible calmness that immediately settled my panic. He didn't just talk to me—he knelt down to my son's eye level, showed him the ultrasound wand like it was a spaceship controller, and diagnosed an intussusception that needed immediate attention. His team moved with such coordinated urgency, yet he kept explaining each step to us in simple terms. The laparoscopic surgery was a success, and when my son woke up, Dr. Erkan was there with a small toy car. 'For being so brave,' he said. We weren't just patients; we were people he genuinely cared for during our crisis.

As an 82-year-old with multiple comorbidities, I was terrified when they found a tumor in my colon. Previous surgeons at other hospitals gave me grim statistics. Dr. Erkan approached my case differently—he spent 45 minutes in our first consultation mapping out my specific risks versus benefits, involving my cardiologist in the planning. His precision during the robotic-assisted surgery at Acibadem was remarkable; he used some advanced technique to minimize blood loss that my previous doctors never mentioned. But what truly stunned me was his follow-up protocol: daily video calls with my daughter during recovery, adjusting medications in real-time based on how I felt. He treated my age not as a limitation, but as a factor requiring more nuanced care. Six months later, I'm gardening again.

Mine was supposed to be a routine gallbladder removal—until Dr. Erkan discovered aberrant anatomy during the procedure. Instead of panicking, he adapted instantly. Later, he showed me detailed 3D reconstructions of my unique biliary structure, explaining why he had to modify the standard technique. 'Your anatomy wrote its own surgical plan,' he said with a respectful smile. His post-op care was equally meticulous; he designed a personalized pain management protocol that avoided opioids entirely due to my history of adverse reactions. What impressed me most was his intellectual transparency—he documented every decision in accessible language in my portal. I didn't just get surgery; I received an education in my own body's uniqueness.

I arrived at the emergency department at 2 AM with perforated diverticulitis and sepsis. Dr. Erkan, who wasn't even on call that night, came in when he heard about the complexity. His emergency laparotomy was decisive yet methodical—he managed both the perforation and the widespread infection while preserving as much bowel as possible. But his care extended far beyond the OR. During my two-week hospitalization, he visited twice daily, often during odd hours, adjusting everything from antibiotics to nutrition. He noticed subtle signs of depression in my third week and connected me with a therapist specializing in post-surgical trauma. A year later, at a follow-up, he remembered specific details about my recovery journey that even I had forgotten. He doesn't just fix bodies; he shepherds entire healing processes.