Patient Experience
My 82-year-old mother, Ayşe, developed a sudden, severe tremor in her left hand that progressed to weakness. Local clinics dismissed it as age-related. We were terrified. Prof. Dr. Turker Kilic at Medical Park Göztepe examined her MRI himself, not just the report. He identified a tiny, deep-seated cavernoma pressing on her thalamus, a needle in a haystack. He explained the risks of surgery versus observation with such clarity, using simple analogies about garden hoses and water pressure. His confidence wasn't arrogance; it was the quiet assurance of mastery. He performed a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure. The tremor stopped immediately. At her 3-month follow-up, he remembered her favorite flower (lilies) and asked about her knitting. He didn't just fix a brain; he gave my mother back her dignity and her crafts.
Our 7-year-old son, Deniz, took a bad fall from his bicycle. The ER scan showed a skull fracture and a worrying epidural hematoma. The night shift team called Prof. Dr. Kilic at home. He was in the hospital within 20 minutes, still in casual clothes. What struck me wasn't just the speed, but his calm. He knelt by Deniz's gurney, showed him the funny shapes on the scan, and called it a 'brain bruise that needed a little cleaning.' He talked to our son, not just to us. The emergency craniotomy was a success. In the days after, his rounds were brief but potent. He'd high-five Deniz and say, 'Your neurons are firing like champions.' No medical jargon, just humanity. He saved our child's life and made him feel brave, not broken.
I'm a 45-year-old software engineer with a trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis, the so-called 'suicide disease.' For years, I lived in fear of electric shock-like facial pain triggered by wind or chewing. Medications turned me into a zombie. Prof. Dr. Kilic proposed a Microvascular Decompression, explaining it like a skilled plumber relieving pressure on a faulty wire. The detail was astonishing; he drew the surgical approach on a tablet, showing how he'd navigate past my hearing and balance nerves. Post-op, the relief was instantaneous. The most profound moment was at my 1-year follow-up. He spent 30 minutes asking about the quality of the relief, not just its presence. 'Can you eat an apple? Feel the wind on your face?' He cared about the return of normal life, not just surgical success. I've had no pain for 18 months. He gave me back the simple joy of a cold drink.
My case was considered inoperable by three other neurosurgeons, a complex, recurrent meningioma wrapped around my optic nerve and carotid artery after two previous surgeries. I had accepted gradual blindness. Prof. Dr. Kilic reviewed my case for a second opinion. He didn't promise miracles but presented a novel, staged approach using intraoperative neuromonitoring and awake craniotomy techniques for the final stage. His plan was a 12-page document, not a vague promise. The surgery lasted 14 hours. When I woke up, he was there, telling me to count his fingers. I could see them all. The follow-up has been meticulous, with advanced imaging he personally compares pixel-by-pixel. He operates with the precision of a watchmaker and the strategic mind of a grandmaster. He didn't just follow protocol; he engineered a solution where others saw a dead end.