Patient Experience
As a 72-year-old retired cartographer, I developed a rare tremor in my dominant hand that threatened my lifelong hobby of miniature shipbuilding. Dr. Yayla discovered a tiny vascular malformation pressing on my motor cortex, not visible on initial scans. Her planned microsurgery was so precise I was sketching maps again within three weeks, with steadier hands than I'd had in years.
My 8-year-old daughter, a competitive gymnast, began experiencing unexplained balance issues. Emergency scans at Acıbadem revealed a pediatric cerebellar astrocytoma. Dr. Yayla performed an awake craniotomy tailored for a child, using interactive games to map her brain functions. Today, she's back on the balance beam, tumor-free, with Dr. Yayla's photo in her gym bag as a 'brain hero.'
After surviving a motorcycle accident in my 40s, I developed debilitating facial neuralgia that felt like electric shocks. Multiple specialists offered only medication. Dr. Yayla identified a bone fragment embedded near my trigeminal nerve from the old injury. Her endoscopic removal procedure gave me my first pain-free day in seven years. She treated the cause, not just the symptoms.
My husband, a 58-year-old marine biologist, began having olfactory hallucinations smelling saltwater constantly. Dr. Yayla diagnosed an olfactory groove meningioma affecting his sense memory centers. Her transcranial approach preserved both his sense of smell and his unique ability to identify marine samples by scent—critical to his research. The surgery felt like restoring his identity.