M.D. Özgür Güler

I'm a 78-year-old retired violinist with trigeminal neuralgia that made playing impossible and life unbearable. For three years, I was treated with medications that left me foggy and depressed. Dr. Güler didn't just see me as another elderly patient with nerve pain. He asked about my violin, listened to recordings I brought, and understood that numbness would be as devastating as pain for me. He proposed a pulsed radiofrequency procedure I'd never heard of, explaining it with drawings like a master teacher. The procedure at Acibadem Maslak was precise, and the relief was gradual but profound. Six weeks later, I played a simple scale for my grandchildren. He gave me back my music, and with it, my joy. His approach was both scientifically rigorous and deeply human.

Our 9-year-old daughter developed complex regional pain syndrome after a seemingly minor ankle sprain from gymnastics. We saw five specialists who offered conflicting advice, from 'ignore it' to heavy medications. Dr. Güler was our sixth opinion. He got down on the floor with her, spoke to her directly about her favorite gymnasts, and created a 'superhero training plan' instead of a treatment protocol. He combined a gentle sympathetic nerve block with a whole-family cognitive behavioral approach, teaching her visualization techniques using her gymnastics routines. At Acibadem Maslak, the pediatric pain team he coordinated was exceptional. He never dismissed her pain as 'just in her head' but helped her rebuild the connection between mind and body. She's back in the gym, not at competition level yet, but more importantly, she's smiling again.

I arrived at Acibadem Maslak's ER at 2 AM with a spinal epidural abscess, a rare complication from a dental procedure abroad. The infection was causing excruciating, escalating pain and neurological symptoms. Dr. Güler was the on-call pain specialist who coordinated the emergency response. While the surgeons prepared for drainage, he managed my pain with a meticulously calculated continuous epidural infusion that brought me from screaming to coherent within an hour. What struck me was his calm, decisive explanation during a crisis. He didn't just treat the symptom; he mapped out the entire pain management pathway through surgery, ICU recovery, and rehabilitation. His follow-up was daily, even on weekends. He turned a medical nightmare into a managed, bearable process. His expertise in acute pain crisis management is nothing short of brilliant.

As a 42-year-old software engineer with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, my 'routine checkup' is anything but routine. My chronic joint instability causes pain that most doctors find baffling and untreatable. Dr. Güler approaches my follow-up visits like a detective and an engineer. He doesn't just ask 'where does it hurt?'; he analyzes my movement patterns, my work ergonomics, and even my code marathon sessions. At our last visit, he had researched new dynamic bracing techniques used for athletes and adapted one for my hypermobile wrists. He collaborates with my physiatrist and geneticist, acting as the conductor of my care orchestra. In the sterile world of high-tech medicine at Maslak, he provides the crucial thread of continuity, treating not just the pain but the accumulating fatigue of a lifelong complex condition. He makes me feel like a partner in my care, not a broken system.