Spec. MD. Deniz Ayhan Catal

As a 78-year-old with debilitating spinal stenosis, I had resigned myself to a life of constant pain. Dr. Deniz Ayhan Catal didn't just see another elderly patient; he saw a person who wanted to garden again. His approach was methodical yet compassionate, starting with targeted nerve blocks before recommending a minimally invasive procedure I'd never heard of. What struck me was how he explained everything using simple analogies about 'rewiring faulty circuits.' Six months later, I'm tending my roses pain-free. His team at Medical Park Izmir even followed up with a home exercise chart printed in large font. This wasn't just treatment; it was restoration of dignity.

Our 9-year-old daughter developed complex regional pain syndrome after a playground fracture, a nightmare for any parent. Most doctors spoke over her head, but Dr. Catal knelt to her eye level and asked about her favorite cartoons. He created a whole 'superhero protocol' where she was the hero fighting 'pain monsters.' Using pediatric-appropriate nerve blocks and a multidisciplinary plan with a child psychologist, he achieved what seemed impossible. His voice was always calm, never patronizing. We're now eight months into remission, and she calls him 'the pain wizard.' In pediatric pain management, finding someone who treats the fear as seriously as the physiology is rare.

I arrived at Medical Park Izmir's ER at 2 AM with trigeminal neuralgia so severe I couldn't speak. Dr. Catal was called in emergently. Within minutes of his assessment, using gentle touch diagnostics that didn't exacerbate my pain, he administered an emergency nerve block at my bedside. What followed wasn't just crisis management; he sat with me until dawn, mapping out a long-term neuromodulation plan. His emergency intervention felt like someone had 'switched off a lightning storm in my face.' He transformed a traumatic ER visit into the beginning of actual healing, coordinating same-day consultations with neurology. That night, he wasn't just a specialist; he was an anchor.

Following a complex spinal fusion surgery elsewhere, I developed failed back surgery syndrome, a web of scar tissue and nerve pain. Multiple doctors offered only opioids. Dr. Catal approached my case like a detective, spending 90 minutes reviewing my imaging pixel-by-pixel before touching me. His solution was unconventional: a staged series of pulsed radiofrequency ablations combined with regenerative medicine injections. He warned recovery would be 'non-linear,' preparing me psychologically. The treatment itself felt like precision engineering, each injection guided by live ultrasound with him narrating what he was seeing. Now at my six-month follow-up, I've reduced medications by 70%. He treats complex pain not as a failure but as a solvable puzzle.