M.D. Özgün Oktay

I brought my 4-year-old son, Leo, to Dr. Oktay after he started squinting and complaining of 'fuzzy' cartoons. As a terrified parent, I expected a quick, clinical visit. Instead, Dr. Oktay transformed his examination room into a game. He used a small, animated light puppet to perform the refraction test, calling it 'catching the firefly.' Leo was giggling, not crying. The diagnosis was a significant astigmatism. Dr. Oktay didn't just prescribe glasses; he helped Leo pick out blue frames 'like a superhero's mask' and explained to him how they were 'superpower lenses.' At the follow-up, Leo ran into the clinic, eager to show off his glasses. This wasn't just pediatric ophthalmology; it was child psychology and pure magic. Gokturk Medical Center is lucky to have him.

As a 78-year-old with rapidly progressing cataracts in both eyes, I was facing the terrifying prospect of losing my ability to read and paint my miniatures. My previous consultant made the surgery sound like an assembly line. Dr. Özgün Oktay was different. He spent an hour with me before any decision, using a 3D model to explain the advanced trifocal lens option. He understood that my goal wasn't just '20/20 vision' but to regain the precise depth perception needed for my hobby. The surgery itself on my right eye was surreal—I saw kaleidoscopic colors as he worked, and he narrated the process calmly. The next morning, when the patch came off, I could see the clock across the room AND the fine brushstrokes on a painting nearby. The precision was breathtaking. My follow-up care was meticulous. He restored my world in high definition.

This was no routine checkup. I'm a graphic designer, and two days before a major deadline, a sudden, violent burst of floaters and flashing lights like a camera strobe appeared in my peripheral vision. I rushed to Gokturk in a panic. Dr. Oktay's team recognized it as a potential emergency and got me in immediately. He performed a dilated exam with a sense of urgent calm. His diagnosis was a retinal tear. 'We need to fix this today,' he said, not tomorrow. Within hours, he performed a laser retinopexy in-office. The procedure was precise, and he explained each laser 'spot' as a weld securing my retina. The relief was physical. He saved my vision and possibly my career. His blend of cutting-edge urgency and profound reassurance during a crisis is something I will never forget.

I visited Dr. Oktay for what I thought was a simple, persistent dry eye issue that over-the-counter drops couldn't fix. Instead of a quick prescription, he conducted a full meibomian gland evaluation using a special imaging device I'd never seen before. He showed me the screen—my glands were atrophied, 'like frozen pipes.' He diagnosed Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and proposed a comprehensive, multi-step treatment: a series of intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy sessions followed by gland expression. It sounded intense, but he was a scientist and a coach throughout. He explained the photobiology of IPL with genuine passion. After three sessions, the chronic grittiness and redness I'd accepted as normal for years were gone. Dr. Oktay looks beyond the obvious symptom to the root cause. He doesn't manage problems; he solves them with innovative, evidence-based rigor.