M.D. Osman Egüz

My 82-year-old father, Ahmet, fell in our Istanbul apartment and fractured his hip during the Ramadan evening meal. The chaos of iftar made everything worse. We rushed him to Acıbadem Altunizade, terrified. Dr. Egüz met us with astonishing calm. He didn't just see a broken bone; he saw a devout elderly man in pain during a holy month. He coordinated with the hospital kitchen to ensure my father could break his fast properly post-surgery, and explained the procedure to us using the metaphor of 'repairing a precious, old Iznik tile'—carefully, and with respect for its history. The surgery was flawless, but it was this holistic, culturally-attuned compassion that truly healed our family's fear. We are forever grateful.

Our 7-year-old daughter, Elif, swallowed a small, metallic button battery from a toy while we were visiting family in Üsküdar. Panic doesn't describe it. At the ER, Dr. Egüz moved with a focused, quiet urgency that immediately instilled confidence. He explained the grave risk of tissue corrosion in simple terms, like 'a tiny leak in a balloon,' but without terrifying our child. What stood out was how he engaged *her*. He showed her the endoscopic camera on a screen, calling it a 'little explorer going on a mission to find the shiny treasure.' He made her the hero of the procedure. The extraction was successful in minutes. Dr. Egüz doesn't just treat emergencies; he disarms them, especially for frightened children.

I am a freelance photographer, and what I thought was severe food poisoning after a shoot near the Bosphorus turned into crippling abdominal pain. At midnight, Dr. Egüz suspected not gastroenteritis, but an atypical appendicitis. His diagnostic process was like watching a detective work. He asked specific, unusual questions about the *type* of pain—'Is it more like a hot coal or a twisting rope?'—and my activity that day. His suspicion led to a scan confirming a retrocecal appendix, hiding in a tricky position. His decision for immediate surgery prevented rupture. In follow-up, he reviewed my surgical images with me, pointing out the anatomy with the eye of an artist, which fascinated me. He treated the patient *and* the person's curiosity.

Following a complex motorcycle accident on the coastal road, my partner had multiple trauma: a fractured pelvis, rib fractures, and a concerning head injury. The first 48 hours were a blur of specialists. Dr. Egüz was the conductor of this chaotic orchestra. He didn't just manage the injuries; he managed the *flow of information*. He gave us brief, clear updates every few hours, using a whiteboard to sketch what was happening internally. He was brutally honest about risks but always paired it with the next concrete step. 'The pelvis is unstable, so we are doing this. The brain scan shows this, so we are watching for that.' His ability to project controlled, transparent command in the storm of a poly-trauma case gave us an anchor. His expertise in trauma is not just clinical; it's deeply human crisis management.