M.D. Sema Selim Kechagia

My 82-year-old father, Kostas, was brought in after a fall in his apartment in Beyoğlu. He was disoriented and had a deep laceration on his forehead. Dr. Sema Selim Kechagia was like a calm commander in the storm of the Acıbadem Bakırköy ER. She didn't just treat the wound; she immediately recognized signs of a mild concussion and possible UTI contributing to his confusion. Her approach was firm yet incredibly gentle with my terrified father. She spoke to him in clear, simple Turkish, holding his hand while explaining each step. She coordinated with geriatrics for a full work-up. We expected stitches and discharge, but her thoroughness uncovered the infection. She treated the whole patient, not just the trauma. My father is back to his old self, and we have Dr. Kechagia's sharp eyes to thank.

Our 7-year-old daughter, Elif, swallowed a small toy battery during a family dinner. Panic doesn't describe it. We rushed to Acıbadem Bakırköy. Dr. Kechagia met us with an intense, focused energy that immediately instilled confidence. No wasted time, no unnecessary panic. She explained the critical timeline for button battery removal in a way that was terrifyingly clear but also made us trust her urgency. She personally escorted Elif to imaging, reviewed the results instantly, and coordinated with pediatric endoscopy within minutes. While she was all business with the medical team, she knelt down and showed Elif pictures on her phone of the 'little treasure hunt' they were about to do. Her ability to pivot from clinical precision to comforting a child was astounding. The procedure was a success. Dr. Kechagia is the doctor you pray for in a true emergency.

I'm a 45-year-old long-distance runner. I came in after what I thought was a severe ankle sprain from a trail run in Belgrad Forest. Dr. Kechagia listened to my story, then did an examination that was surprisingly comprehensive for an ER visit. She pressed specific points on my calf and foot, her brow furrowed. 'This isn't just a sprain,' she said. 'Your mechanism of injury and this pain pattern suggest a possible Lisfranc ligament complex injury. Missed, it ends your running.' She ordered a specific weight-bearing X-ray protocol, which the tech initially questioned, but she insisted. She was right. A subtle midfoot instability was revealed. She didn't just give me a brace and crutches; she drew a simple diagram of the injury, explained why surgery might be needed, and gave me a direct referral to a brilliant orthopedic foot specialist. This wasn't emergency patchwork; it was diagnostic brilliance that saved my future mobility.

My husband, a 38-year-old chef, presented with sudden, crushing chest pain. The triage was swift, but when Dr. Kechagia took over, the pace changed from fast to decisive. His ECG was ambiguous—not a classic heart attack pattern. Many might have dismissed it as anxiety or reflux. Dr. Kechagia did not. Her eyes scanned the monitor, then him. 'Pain radiating to your jaw?' she asked. He nodded. She immediately ordered a stat high-sensitivity troponin and a bedside echocardiogram. She spoke to him calmly but directly: 'We are ruling out the worst things first. Your job is to breathe. Mine is to figure this out.' Her suspicion was an aortic dissection. The echo showed it wasn't that, but the troponin came back elevated. She had caught a type of myocardial infarction that often goes missed. Her refusal to settle for the obvious, her ability to think of catastrophic causes first, saved his life. In the ICU, the cardiologist said, 'You had the right doctor in the ER.' We know.