Patient Experience
My 8-year-old son, Ali, was born with a complex congenital heart defect that multiple doctors described as inoperable. We traveled from Ankara to Mersin as a last resort. Prof. Dr. Karadede didn't just see a complicated case, he saw a child who loved football. He spent an hour drawing the procedure for us using a toy heart model, explaining how he would create a 'new pathway' like a secret tunnel on a football field. The 7-hour surgery was successful, and his follow-up approach involved comparing EKG readings to musical rhythms to keep Ali engaged. Six months later, my son is playing football with his friends. This wasn't just medical treatment; it was a restoration of childhood.
As a 72-year-old retired ship captain with persistent atrial fibrillation, I'd seen several cardiologists who simply adjusted medications. During a routine checkup, Prof. Dr. Karadede noticed a subtle pattern in my Holter monitor that others had missed, irregularities that coincided with my morning Turkish coffee ritual. Instead of just increasing medication, he designed a unique ablation procedure that accounted for the specific electrical pathways in my seafarer's heart, which he said had 'navigational patterns' different from land-dwellers. His post-procedure care included having me listen to steady ocean wave recordings to help regulate my heart rhythm. For the first time in a decade, my heart beats like a dependable engine.
I was 34 weeks pregnant when I developed peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare pregnancy-related heart failure. Rushed to Medical Park Mersin in respiratory distress, I was terrified for myself and my unborn baby. Prof. Dr. Karadede coordinated a remarkable dual-specialty approach: he stabilized my heart function just enough to allow the obstetric team to perform an emergency C-section, then immediately proceeded with targeted cardiac treatment. What amazed me was how he modified standard heart failure protocols to account for postpartum hormonal shifts, something he said required 'thinking in two biological timelines simultaneously.' My daughter and I both survived because he treated us as one interconnected patient system.
As a competitive freediver who could hold my breath for 5 minutes, I developed unexpected bradycardia that threatened my passion. Rather than simply implanting a standard pacemaker that would end my diving career, Prof. Dr. Karadede researched diving physiology and collaborated with biomedical engineers to create a customized device with a 'dive mode', it allows my heart rate to drop naturally during apnea but prevents dangerous lows. During follow-up visits, he analyzes my heart data alongside my dive logs, correlating cardiac patterns with depth and duration. He didn't just treat a heart condition; he preserved my identity as a diver through medical innovation.