Patient Experience
As a 78-year-old with debilitating spinal stenosis, I had resigned myself to a life confined to my armchair. Dr. Semra Uğur didn't just see another elderly patient; she saw a person who missed gardening. Her approach was methodical yet compassionate—starting with targeted nerve blocks that felt like precise, cool relief. She explained the anatomy using simple metaphors I could grasp. After a series of pulsed radiofrequency treatments, I'm back tending my roses. Her follow-up calls to my daughter to check on my progress showed care beyond the clinic. At Acibadem Atasehir, she restored my independence.
Our 9-year-old daughter developed complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in her foot after a minor sprain—a nightmare of constant, burning pain. Pediatric pain specialists were scarce. Dr. Uğur created a magical 'pain-fighting superhero' narrative for her treatment. She used a special ultrasound to show my daughter how the 'calm medicine' would work, turning a scary procedure into a game. Through a combination of gentle sympathetic blocks and a tailored physio plan involving dance therapy, my child went from wheelchair to ballet class in three months. Dr. Uğur's ability to bridge the world of adult medicine and a child's fear was nothing short of alchemy.
I arrived at Acibadem Atasehir's ER at 2 AM with an acute trigeminal neuralgia flare—often called the 'suicide disease' for its severity. The pain was electric, blinding torture. Dr. Uğur, consulted emergently, had a calm, focused intensity. She didn't just administer a standard injection; she performed a diagnostic nerve block at my bedside to confirm the exact nerve branch involved, explaining each step through my tears. The immediate relief was profound. She then designed a same-day, minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation, stopping the crisis in its tracks. Her emergency intervention wasn't a patch; it was a definitive strategic strike against the pain.
Following a complex multi-level spinal fusion at another center, I was left with intractable neuropathic pain—a burning, buzzing map of misery along my surgical scar. My case was a tangled web of failed hardware and nerve damage. Dr. Uğur approached it like a detective and an engineer. She spent an hour reviewing my imaging, not just the recent ones but the progression over years. Her solution was innovative: a combined spinal cord stimulator trial tailored to my specific pain topography, followed by a delicate procedure to revise a problematic screw impingement. Her post-op care involved novel medication rotation to avoid tolerance. She managed the intersection of surgery and neurology with breathtaking skill, giving me my sleep—and my sanity—back.