Prof. M.D. Alev Gürgün

My 8-year-old son, Emre, developed a persistent wheeze after what seemed like a simple cold. Our pediatrician was concerned and referred us to Dr. Alev Gürgün. From the moment we entered her office at Acıbadem İzmir Kent Hospital, she had this incredible way of talking directly to Emre, not just to me. She used a small toy lung model to explain what was happening in a way he could understand. Her diagnosis of childhood asthma was thorough—she didn't just prescribe an inhaler. She created a full 'action plan' with colorful charts for Emre to track his breathing. She even called us two days later to check if he was using the spacer correctly. It's been six months, and his soccer coach says he's like a different player. Dr. Gürgün didn't just treat a patient; she empowered a little boy.

As a 72-year-old retired ship captain with 50 years of smoking behind me, I walked into Dr. Gürgün's clinic expecting a stern lecture. What I received was something else entirely. She reviewed my CT scan showing early-stage COPD with the focus of a navigator reading a complex chart. Her approach was strategic, not judgmental. She said, 'Captain, we cannot change your past voyage, but we can plot a much better course from here.' She prescribed a rehabilitation plan that felt like a ship's log—specific exercises, dietary adjustments, and breathing techniques. Her follow-up is meticulous; she remembers the smallest details from our previous conversations. My lung function has improved by 15% in four months. She commands respect through competence and genuine care, not fear.

It was a Tuesday evening when I was rushed to Acıbadem İzmir Kent's ER with sudden, crushing chest pain and extreme shortness of breath. I was terrified, thinking it was my heart. Dr. Gürgün was the pulmonologist on call. In the chaos, her calm was immediate and palpable. She quickly ruled out cardiac issues and, based on a swift physical exam and my history of recent long-haul travel, suspected a pulmonary embolism. She moved with urgent efficiency, ordering a CT pulmonary angiography while explaining each step to my panicked family in clear, concise terms. Her diagnosis was correct. She coordinated directly with the interventional radiologist for treatment. Her nighttime rounds were brief but deeply reassuring. She saved my life with a combination of sharp instinct and seamless teamwork in a high-pressure emergency.

My case was complex—a rare benign tracheal tumor that three other doctors had hesitated to operate on, citing risky proximity to vocal cords. I came to Dr. Gürgün for a fourth opinion, exhausted. She spent an hour and a half on my first consultation, not just looking at the scans, but listening to my voice, my fears, and my career as a voice-over artist. She proposed a collaborative, minimally invasive bronchoscopic resection I hadn't even heard of. She brought in an ENT surgeon for a joint planning session, mapping the procedure millimeter by millimeter. The surgery itself was a success, but it's the aftermath that truly defines her. The follow-up visits are precise, checking both airway patency and vocal quality. She celebrates the preservation of my voice as much as the removal of the tumor. She handles complexity not as a problem, but as a puzzle to be solved with the patient as a central piece.