M.D. Mustafa Yücel

A 3-year-old girl from a remote village, whose family traveled 8 hours by bus, presented with a rare congenital tracheoesophageal fistula that had been misdiagnosed as recurrent pneumonia. Dr. Yücel performed a thoracoscopic repair using specialized pediatric instruments he helped design. The family, subsistence farmers, stayed in hospital-provided housing for 6 weeks during recovery, with the grandmother teaching traditional Anatolian lullabies to the nursing staff.

A 14-year-old Syrian refugee boy with untreated Hirschsprung's disease since infancy arrived at the emergency department in septic shock. Dr. Yücel coordinated a multidisciplinary team including a pediatric gastroenterologist and psychologist, performing a staged pull-through procedure. The boy's recovery was complicated by malnutrition and PTSD, requiring 3 months of nutritional support and play therapy alongside surgical follow-up.

A 7-year-old competitive gymnast from an affluent family in Ankara developed a rare sports hernia that conservative treatment failed to resolve. Dr. Yücel performed a minimally invasive laparoscopic repair using a novel mesh technique adapted for growing children. The athlete returned to competition after 5 months of carefully monitored rehabilitation, with Dr. Yücel consulting her sports medicine team throughout.

A newborn from a conservative rural family was born with ambiguous genitalia and associated urological anomalies. Dr. Yücel led sensitive family counseling sessions with a child psychiatrist and endocrinologist before performing delayed reconstructive surgery at 18 months. The family initially resisted psychological support but eventually embraced a multidisciplinary approach, with the child now thriving at age 4.