Dr. Özlem Balcı

My 82-year-old father, Ahmet, had completely lost his sense of smell for over a year and was becoming depressed, refusing to eat because 'food has no soul.' Every other ENT specialist dismissed it as age-related. Dr. Özlem Balcı was different. She spent 45 minutes just listening to him describe the scents he missed most—rain on dry earth, my mother's rosewater pastries. She ordered a very specific sinus CT that others hadn't bothered with and discovered a subtle but critical obstruction. Her surgery was two weeks ago. Yesterday, he wept while smelling coffee for the first time. She didn't just treat a nose; she restored a fundamental joy of living. Her patience with the elderly is extraordinary.

Our 5-year-old daughter, Elif, had recurring tonsillitis every 3 weeks like clockwork, missing kindergarten and becoming pale and thin. We were terrified of a tonsillectomy. Dr. Balcı didn't push for surgery immediately. She created a 'tonsil diary' with Elif, using stickers to track good days and sore days for two months. She explained the procedure to Elif using a teddy bear and a small flashlight, making her giggle. The surgery at Acıbadem Bakırköy was seamless. What stunned us was the follow-up: Dr. Balcı personally called us that evening to check on Elif's pain levels. A week later, Elif was dancing, eating solid food, and has been infection-free for 6 months. This doctor understands that pediatric ENT is about caring for the whole family's anxiety.

I'm a 34-year-old teacher and I came in for what I thought was a routine checkup for mild ear fullness after a flight. Dr. Balcı's routine examination is anything but routine. While looking in my ear, she noticed a tiny, almost imperceptible tremor in my soft palate when I said 'ahh.' No one had ever caught this. She gently inquired about other 'weird little things'—my slightly hoarse morning voice, a occasional slight choke on water. She suspected a very early-stage neurological issue affecting my cranial nerves and coordinated immediately with a neurologist within the hospital. It turned out to be early myasthenia gravis. She caught a neurological disease through an ENT exam. This wasn't a checkup; it was a life-altering early intervention. Her diagnostic vigilance is terrifyingly good.

I was a complex revision surgery case—a botched septorhinoplasty from another country left me with a collapsed nasal valve, chronic pain, and breathing worse than before. I had consulted seven surgeons who all said the repair was too risky and scarred. Dr. Balcı reviewed my 3D imaging for an hour in silence, then said, 'The architecture is damaged, but the foundation is there. We can rebuild.' She didn't promise perfection but a functional airway. The 5-hour surgery used cartilage graft from my ear. The post-op was brutal, but she met me every single day for 12 days, even on Sunday, to personally change the packing and monitor the grafts. A year later, I breathe like I never have in my adult life. She specializes in surgical rescues others refuse. Her skill is in reconstruction, not just first-time procedures.