Volume 8 Issue 32 - Special Health Issue

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TOA 1-9 3/19/09 1:27 PM Page 3

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TOA 1-9 3/19/09 1:28 PM Page 5

06 • TurkofAmerica

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50

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Cover Photo: Mehmet Demirci, Zaman Newspaper.

18 2034

14

INDEX

10

56

10 A NEW RIVAL IN BRAIN SURGERY FROM TRENTON FOR NYC AND PHILADELPHIA Capital Health System, with an investment of $30M,

opened its Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center. The hospital

aims to fulfill the needs of brain patients in the area.

14 DR. ZEKI UYGUR: A TREASURE FOR TURKS IN NEW YORKAs we felt it was a binding duty to tell about the national t

reasure of the Turks in the U.S., this gentleman of Istanbul,

TURKOFAMERICA asked his close friends and fellows about

Dr. Zeki Uygur.

18 DR. HAKAN USAL RECREATES YOU An average of 1200 surgeries are performed at Dr. Usal

Cosmetic Surgey Center per year with 400 of them aesthetic

and 800 of them reconstructive.

20 NEW YORK'S TOP TURKISH DOCTORS The “Best Doctors” list highlights 1,434 physicians, the top

two percent in the metro area in various specialties.

According to the Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctor

2008 list, there are four Turkish-born physicians named

among the best doctors.

26 ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFULPHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN NEW YORK Dr. P›nar Atakent started working as a specialist in 1981 at

the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation department at Long

Island College Hospital where she has been chief for the

past seventeen years.

34 DR. EMRE PROVIDES A BRAND NEW LEASE ON LIFE There is one transplant surgery in particular that has caused

New York Magazine to choose Dr. Emre, who has not only

attracted the attention of the medical world, but also its

praise, as one of the top ten best doctors of the year.

50 TURKEY’S MEDICAL ‘TOURIST ATTRACTIONS’ Turkey is among the most preferred destinations for British

patients, according to Medical Tourism Survey 2007, along

with India and Hungary.

56 ONE OF THE TOP 100 DENTISTS: DR. UTKU OZANDr. Ozan educated 2100 dentists in 86 seminars in

2008. Dr. Ozan visited 19 countries and his 2009

schedule includes seminars in 14 different countries.

64 TURKISH DOCTORS IN NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY AND CONNECTICUT First time in the U.S., TURKOFAMERICA brings together a

list of Turkish doctors who practice in all type of specialty in

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The list includes

129 Turkish-born doctors’ names from Adolescent Medicine

to Urology.

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TurkofAmerica • 07

FROM EDITOR

Cemil Ö[email protected]

According to author Marc Angel’s book, LaAmerica: The Sephardic Experience in the United

States, Jack David Hananiah was the first SephardicJew in New York to become a dentist. The date on which Hananiah received a dentist’sdiploma was June 8, 1917.

Hananiah was not only a Sephardic Jew, but he wasalso a Turkish-born citizen of the Ottoman Empire.He was born in Smyrna (Izmir), an ancient city inWestern Turkey. Unfortunately, later he was mur-dered in his office by a former patient. His brotherEly also became a dentist.

Being a dentist was a big deal in the early 20th cen-tury for new immigrant colonies in New York; there-fore La America, community newspaper of SephardicJew, was proud to inform its readers that theSephardic community had their first dentist.

Since 1917, many Turkish-born doctors have practiced inthe United States. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, many doc-tors came to the United States from Turkey, creating anew trend, among the educated, of moving to this conti-nent. During the years after WWII, economic and mili-tary relations between the United States and Turkeyplayed an important role in the arrival of 4,000 Turkishengineers and doctors to this country.

The doctors who arrived in the 1950’s are now enjoy-ing their retirements. Many continue to live in theU.S., while some of them went back to Turkey.

Nowadays there is no accurate source on how manyTurkish physicians are practicing in the UnitedStates. Thus, preparing a special health issue was avery hard and long struggled for us, as this issue isthe first publication about Turkish doctors in the U.S.and we did not have enough information about whois practicing where and in which specialty.

We would have not been successful in finding abroad doctors’ list, if we had not focused on the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

According to our research, there are approximately200 Turkish physicians practicing in the tri-statearea. The majority of them obtained their educationin Turkey, then immigrated to the U.S.

In the past, the private medical industry in Turkeydid not advance or grow as much as it should have;

According to our

research,

there are

approximately 200

Turkish physicians

practicing

in the

tri-state area.

The majority

of them obtained

their education in

Turkey, then

immigrated to the

U.S.

for this reason, the doctors preferred to stay in theU.S. Recent economic developments and theachievements of the private health industry inTurkey now make the U.S. less attractive for Turkish-born doctors.

The doctors who graduated from Turkish universi-ties, almost all of them, are very proud of having hada good education in Turkey. According to ourresearch, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, andDentistry are the most popular specialties amongthe Turkish doctors currently practicing in the U.S..They mostly graduated from prestigious medicalschools, such as Capa, Cerrahpasa, AnkaraUniversity, and Hacettepe.

Among these 200 doctors, there is also an eye-catch-ing second generation of successful names. Dr.Mehmet Oz, Erol Veznedaroglu, and Caner Z. Dinlencare some of them.

Unquestionably Dr. Oz is the best known Turkishdoctor in the U.S. He is vice-chair and professor ofsurgery at Columbia University and directs theCardiovascular Institute and ComplementaryMedicine Program at NewYork-PresbyterianHospital. Oz is the health expert on The OprahWinfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show inAmerican television history.

In addition to Oz, many successful Turkish doctors healtheir patients and they have respected reputations inthe health industry. It’s very common to see a Turkishdoctor in any city’s list of top doctors. Psychiatrist T.Byram Karasu, cardiac surgeon M. Arisan Ergin, trans-plant surgeon Sukru Emre, and pediatric endocrinolo-gist Levon Agdere are just the names on New YorkMagazine’s latest “Best Doctors” list.

Our Special Health Issue cover story is about ZekiUygur, a true treasure for Turks in New York since1969. I am sure that Dr. Uygur will be angry at us forputting him on the cover because he always wants toavoid publicity, but I believe that it was a bindingduty to tell his tale for future generations.Personally, I have never met him, but in order to pre-pare the cover story we talked to many of his friends,patients, and colleagues. As his friends say, wehaven’t met any person who speaks negativelyabout Dr. Uygur. He has conquered the hearts ofTurkish people and I hope you will enjoy reading hisstory. !

Turk›sh Doctors›n the Un›ted States

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TOA 1-9 3/19/09 1:28 PM Page 9

Capital Health

System, with an

investment of $30M,

opened its

Stroke and

Cerebrovascular

Center.

The hospital aims to

fulfill the

needs of brain

patients in the area.

New York City and Phila-delphia are two cities that

have been competing thro-ughout the history of the

U.S. Philadelphia, acity which was the

largest in the co-untry in the1800’s, was thefirst to open amedical school.Starting from the20th century,New York City to-ok the lead in in-dustrializationand commerce.

In all those years, the pe-ople who lived betweenNew York City and Phila-delphia had recourse to

these two cities for betterhealth services.

Now, the corporationsthat are located in NewJersey are trying to fill thisgap by making serious in-vestments.

Capital Health System,which operates in the ca-


A New R›val ›n Bra›n Surgery from Trenton for NYC and Ph›ladelph›a:

The Stroke &CerebrovascularCenter ofNew Jersey

DR. EROL VEZNEDAROGLU

Neurovascular Surgeons, Erol Veznedaroglu, MD.

TOA 10-13 3/19/09 2:02 PM Page 2

pital of New Jersey; Trenton, and also the city of Hamilton, is in thelead of those corporations that want to provide patients the healthservices they need without the necessity of traveling to New YorkCity or Philadelphia. Capital Health System is expanding its opera-ting area.

Lately, Capital Health System, with an investment of $30M, openedits Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center. The hospital aims to fulfill theneeds of brain patients in the area.

These recent additions to the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center ofNew Jersey are part of Capital Health’s $30 million investment tobring the latest advances and highest quality treatment of ane-urysms, AVM’s, strokes, intracranial stenosis and other critical con-ditions involving the brain to central and southern New Jersey andBucks County, Pennsylvania.One of the most popular facilities in the U.S. in the brain surgery fi-eld, Philadelphia-headquartered Thomas Jefferson University Hospi-tal transferred 20 members of its team to Capital Health, includingsignificant names such as Dr. Erol Veznedaroglu and Dr. Kenneth M.Liebman, as well as nurses and nurse aides.

At the age 38, holding the title of being the youngest department di-rector in the history of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Dr. ErolVeznedaroglu, within two months after he started (the interview wasconducted in the second week of February) at the Capital HealthSystem, says they took care of nearly 100 patients and performed 60operations. Dr. Veznedaroglu can perform up to 6-7 operations a day.

Dr. Veznedaroglu performed 5,000 operations last year with his te-am at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He mentions that he ca-me from an environment where there was a high patient traffic intoan environment where the patients are treated with more specializedcare. He says, “This is the kind of place I have always wanted towork. When you work in a university hospital and with that many pa-tients, it becomes impossible to give more time to each of your pati-ents. The service we provide here is very special.”

“Patients throughout our region have been looking to major citiessuch as Philadelphia and New York City to get the highest level of ca-re and advanced treatment for strokes and other life-threatening bra-in conditions,” said Al Maghazehe, CEO & President of Capital He-alth. “With the acquisition of this advanced equipment and the addi-tion of Dr. Veznedaroglu and Dr. Liebman to our staff, the same qua-lity of care is available at Capital Health.”When he was asked if making a new start at a new hospital after lea-ving the busiest brain surgery department in the world had carriedrisks, Dr Veznedaroglu answered, “It did, absolutely!” However, hesays that he admired the vision and plans of Capital Health SystemCEO & President Al Maghazehe for the hospital. Veznedaroglu men-tions that having been a doctor for the last 15 years, he follows theprinciple of every patient being treated equally. He adds that hewants the Cerebrovascular Center of New Jersey to be the first ad-dress to go for the patients of brain illnesses in the area.

The young doctor says that he has patients not only from CentralNew Jersey and its surrounding area but also other states of the U.S.He mentions that the hospital carries all the necessary equipment inorder to serve the patients coming from Turkey in the best way as

well. What makes Trenton more attractive is the fact that it is moreaffordable than New York City, especially for the patient’s relatives,considering hotel and the other costs. Veznedaroglu says, “When itcomes to health, money is not the first priority, but we have compe-titive special care, service and treatment methods for the patients.”

THE DOCTOR SON OF DOCTOR FATHERErol Veznedaroglu is one of three children of doctor parents, Muhte-sem & Kincal Veznedaroglu. His father Muhtesem Veznedaroglu is agraduate of the Medical School of Istanbul University. After havingcompleted his army duty, he first arrived in Canada without knowingEnglish at all, then moved to the U.S.. Muhtesem Veznedaroglu marri-ed K›ncal Veznedaroglu whom he met at the hospital he was workingat in Denver. Erol Veznedaroglu says he could never tolerate the diffi-culties that his father, who worked as a doctor in upstate New York fornearly 30 years, faced in the years he immigrated to the U.S.. Erol Vez-nedaroglu says he was raised as an American by Turkish parents andhe stresses the contribution of his family to his success. Erol Vezneda-roglu is married and has two children, a son and daughter.

ABOUT CAPITAL HEALTH Capital Health is a 589-bed acute-care teaching hospital located inTrenton, New Jersey. Capital Health, which is comprised of two hos-pitals and an outpatient facility, offers centers of excellence in neu-rosciences, maternal child health, cardiology, dialysis, trauma servi-ces, and oncology.In October 2008, Capital Health announced that its Fuld hospital hadreceived the highest possible ratings for the treatment of stroke by He-althGrades, the healthcare ratings company. Capital Health is the onlyhospital in the Tri-County area of Mercer, Burlington and Camden co-unties to be ranked among the top 10% in the nation for treatment ofstroke, a ranking it has earned for the past two years in a row.!


TOA 10-13 3/19/09 2:02 PM Page 3

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TOA 10-13 3/19/09 2:03 PM Page 5

DR. ZEKI UYGUR

Among the immigrant ethnic groups in the U.S.,there have always been people who dedicated

themselves to the people of their home countries.They become worried when their compatriots areworried, they become sad when they are sad. Theyhelp without any expectations in return. They areconcerned about helping their people, not their ownbenefit, despite the capitalist system. They couldadapt to the cycle and make millions to have a com-fortable and trouble-free way of life, just like many oftheir co-workers. Instead they choose to conquer thehearts of their people.

They do not play cheap games like getting a“Lifetime Achievement Award” award after donatinga couple of thousand dollars to some businessman’sfoundation. They are not in the media aimlessly.They do not have their pictures published in maga-zines.

One of these people is Zeki Uygur, whose name ismentioned with respect and gratitude by many Turksin New York.

We had been planning to tell his life story after theinterview we would have with him. Melda Akansel,who helped a lot with this edition, arranged anappointment and saw Zeki Uygur in his office. Dr.Uygur politely refused Melda’s interview request. Hehad thought she was one of the Turks in need ofhelp. He said, “Let’s sit down, I will talk, we can chatbut you are not allowed to use it in the magazine.”Zeki Uygur does not like talking about himself.

As we felt it was a binding duty to tell about thenational treasure of the Turks in the U.S., this gentle-man of Istanbul, TURKOFAMERICA asked his closefriends and fellows about Dr. Uygur. As they told usabout him, we enjoyed the opportunity to get toknow this great treasure of Turks in New York.

A NAVY OFFICERAt the opening of his art exhibition at the New YorkTurkish Cultural Center in April 2007, Dr. Zeki Uygurgave some details about his life:

As we felt it was a

binding duty to tell

about the national

treasure of the Turks

in the U.S.,

this gentleman of

Istanbul,

TURKOFAMERICA

asked his close

friends and fellows

about Dr. Zeki Uygur.

He graduated from the Medical School of Ankara in1950. He was an officer in the Navy. He served 3.5years as a doctor on Turkish naval ships, includingAtaturk’s ship, the Savarona. In 1952, he was sent tothe U.S. as a member of a 200-person crew in chargeof receiving 3 torpedo ships while he was serving asa flotilla doctor with the rank of lieutenant on thedestroyer; the Gaziantep.

As the ship approached Staten Island, one soldierfell off and injured his head. Dr. Uygur helped theinjured soldier get treatment by taking him to sever-al hospitals. It was this event that led Dr. Uygur to dohis specialty training in neurosurgery.

After having completed his 3.5 month duty in theU.S., he returned to serve at Gulhane MilitaryMedical School in Istanbul.

Dr. Uygur finished his specialty training in generalsurgery at Gulhane Military Medical School between


Dr. Zeki Uygur:A Treasure forTurks ›n New York

TOA 14-17 3/19/09 2:13 PM Page 2

the years 1954 and 1957. He was sent back to the U.S. by the insis-tent effort by his teacher Dr. Recai Erguder while he was working asa senior consultant at the academy. He continued his education atSt. Albans Naval Hospital. He did not get the chance to finish hisstudies because in March 1960, the military staff made a decisionordering all the military students abroad to return to Turkey. Dr.Uygur went back to his job in Gulhane Military Medical School.

Dr. Uygur witnessed the first military coup in Turkey on May 27,1960. He even knew 30 of the 38 officers who carried out the coupfrom the period when he used to work as a doctor at Gulhane MilitaryMedical School. After the coup, in 1961, he was sent back to IowaUniversity to go on his brain surgery education. He finished his spe-cialty training in brain surgery in 1965.

Dr. Uygur’s dream was to open the brain surgery department inGulhane Military Medical School when he returned to Turkey. Heignored his professor’s insistent advice to stay in the U.S. Dr. Uygurbecame angry when his professor said, “I worked as a visiting pro-fessor at Athens University for 2 years. There’s no differencebetween Greece and Turkey, you can’t do it.”

DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr rrrr eeee tttt uuuu rrrr nnnn eeee dddd tttt oooo TTTT uuuu rrrr kkkk eeee yyyy iiii nnnn 1111 9999 6666 5555 aaaa nnnn dddd ssss tttt aaaa rrrr tttt eeee dddd tttt oooo wwww oooo rrrr kkkk aaaa tttttttt hhhh eeee nnnn eeee uuuu rrrr oooo ssss uuuu rrrr gggg eeee rrrr yyyy dddd eeee pppp aaaa rrrr tttt mmmm eeee nnnn tttt iiii nnnn IIII ssss tttt aaaa nnnn bbbb uuuu llll KKKK aaaa ssss iiii mmmm pppp aaaa ssss aaaaHHHH oooo ssss pppp iiii tttt aaaa llll ,,,, ssss iiii nnnn cccc eeee tttt hhhh eeee nnnn eeee uuuu rrrr oooo ssss uuuu rrrr gggg eeee rrrr yyyy dddd eeee pppp aaaa rrrr tttt mmmm eeee nnnn tttt aaaa tttt GGGG uuuu llll hhhh aaaa nnnn eeeeMMMM iiii llll iiii tttt aaaa rrrr yyyy MMMM eeee dddd iiii cccc aaaa llll SSSS cccc hhhh oooo oooo llll hhhh aaaa dddd aaaa llll rrrr eeee aaaa dddd yyyy bbbb eeee eeee nnnn oooo pppp eeee nnnn eeee dddd bbbb yyyy aaaa cccc oooo llll ----llll eeee aaaa gggg uuuu eeee ....

AAAA ffff tttt eeee rrrr hhhh aaaa vvvv iiii nnnn gggg wwww oooo rrrr kkkk eeee dddd ffff oooo rrrr 4444 yyyy eeee aaaa rrrr ssss iiii nnnn KKKK aaaa ssss iiii mmmm pppp aaaa ssss aaaa HHHH oooo ssss pppp iiii tttt aaaa llll ,,,, hhhh eeeerrrr eeee tttt iiii rrrr eeee dddd ffff rrrr oooo mmmm tttt hhhh eeee nnnn aaaa vvvv yyyy iiii nnnn 1111 9999 6666 9999 wwww iiii tttt hhhh tttt hhhh eeee rrrr aaaa nnnn kkkk oooo ffff cccc oooo llll oooo nnnn eeee llll .... TTTT hhhh eeee nnnn ,,,,hhhh eeee iiii mmmm mmmm iiii gggg rrrr aaaa tttt eeee dddd tttt oooo NNNN eeee wwww YYYY oooo rrrr kkkk .... FFFF rrrr oooo mmmm hhhh iiii ssss ffff iiii rrrr ssss tttt dddd aaaa yyyy ssss iiii nnnn tttt hhhh eeee cccc iiii tttt yyyyuuuu nnnn tttt iiii llll nnnn oooo wwww ,,,, hhhh eeee hhhh aaaa ssss bbbb eeee eeee nnnn dddd eeee tttt eeee rrrr mmmm iiii nnnn eeee dddd tttt oooo hhhh eeee llll pppp tttt hhhh eeee TTTT uuuu rrrr kkkk iiii ssss hhhh cccc oooo mmmm----mmmm uuuu nnnn iiii tttt yyyy aaaa nnnn dddd wwww hhhh oooo eeee vvvv eeee rrrr nnnn eeee eeee dddd ssss aaaa dddd oooo cccc tttt oooo rrrr ....

HHHH EEEE SSSS TTTT IIII LLLL LLLL DDDD OOOO EEEE SSSS NNNN OOOO TTTT TTTT AAAA KKKK EEEE AAAA NNNN YYYY MMMM OOOO NNNN EEEE YYYYWWWW eeee llll llll ---- kkkk nnnn oooo wwww nnnn ffff oooo rrrr tttt hhhh eeee ffff aaaa cccc tttt tttt hhhh aaaa tttt hhhh eeee dddd oooo eeee ssss nnnn oooo tttt tttt aaaa kkkk eeee aaaa nnnn yyyy mmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyyffff rrrr oooo mmmm hhhh iiii ssss TTTT uuuu rrrr kkkk iiii ssss hhhh pppp aaaa tttt iiii eeee nnnn tttt ssss ,,,, DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr hhhh aaaa ssss bbbb eeee eeee nnnn tttt aaaa kkkk iiii nnnn gggg cccc aaaa rrrr eeee oooo ffffhhhh iiii ssss pppp aaaa tttt iiii eeee nnnn tttt ssss iiii nnnn BBBB rrrr oooo oooo kkkk llll yyyy nnnn ffff oooo rrrr ssss eeee vvvv eeee rrrr aaaa llll yyyy eeee aaaa rrrr ssss .... TTTT hhhh eeee ssss eeee dddd aaaa yyyy ssss ,,,, hhhh eeee iiii ssssiiii nnnn mmmm iiii dddd tttt oooo wwww nnnn MMMM aaaa nnnn hhhh aaaa tttt tttt aaaa nnnn ,,,, tttt aaaa kkkk iiii nnnn gggg cccc aaaa rrrr eeee oooo ffff hhhh iiii ssss pppp aaaa tttt iiii eeee nnnn tttt ssss 2222 ---- 3333 dddd aaaa yyyy ssssaaaa wwww eeee eeee kkkk .... AAAA tttt tttt oooo rrrr nnnn eeee yyyy CCCC aaaa hhhh iiii tttt AAAA kkkk bbbb uuuu llll uuuu tttt ,,,, wwww hhhh oooo hhhh aaaa ssss kkkk nnnn oooo wwww nnnn DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrrffff oooo rrrr 2222 0000 yyyy eeee aaaa rrrr ssss aaaa nnnn dddd hhhh aaaa ssss ssss hhhh aaaa rrrr eeee dddd tttt hhhh eeee ssss aaaa mmmm eeee oooo ffff ffff iiii cccc eeee ffff oooo rrrr tttt hhhh eeee llll aaaa ssss tttt 7777mmmm oooo nnnn tttt hhhh ssss ,,,, cccc oooo mmmm pppp llll aaaa iiii nnnn ssss aaaa bbbb oooo uuuu tttt tttt hhhh eeee ffff aaaa cccc tttt tttt hhhh aaaa tttt DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr ssss tttt iiii llll llll dddd oooo eeee ssss----nnnn ’’’’ tttt aaaa ssss kkkk ffff oooo rrrr aaaa nnnn yyyy mmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyy ffff rrrr oooo mmmm hhhh iiii ssss TTTT uuuu rrrr kkkk iiii ssss hhhh pppp aaaa tttt iiii eeee nnnn tttt ssss .... AAAA kkkk bbbb uuuu llll uuuu ttttssss aaaa yyyy ssss ,,,, ““““ HHHH eeee dddd oooo eeee ssss nnnn oooo tttt tttt aaaa kkkk eeee aaaa nnnn yyyy mmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyy ffff rrrr oooo mmmm tttt hhhh oooo ssss eeee wwww hhhh oooo dddd oooo nnnn ’’’’ tttthhhh aaaa vvvv eeee iiii tttt bbbb uuuu tttt wwww hhhh eeee nnnn tttt hhhh eeee oooo nnnn eeee ssss wwww hhhh oooo hhhh aaaa vvvv eeee iiii tttt aaaa rrrr eeee rrrr eeee llll uuuu cccc tttt aaaa nnnn tttt tttt oooo gggg iiii vvvv eeeemmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyy ,,,, IIII dddd eeee mmmm aaaa nnnn dddd oooo uuuu rrrr aaaa dddd mmmm iiii nnnn iiii ssss tttt rrrr aaaa tttt iiii vvvv eeee aaaa ssss ssss iiii ssss tttt aaaa nnnn tttt tttt oooo tttt aaaa kkkk eeee cccc aaaa rrrr eeeeoooo ffff tttt hhhh eeee mmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyy iiii ssss ssss uuuu eeee ssss .... ””””

WWWW hhhh eeee nnnn aaaa ssss kkkk eeee dddd wwww hhhh aaaa tttt kkkk iiii nnnn dddd oooo ffff pppp eeee rrrr ssss oooo nnnn aaaa llll iiii tttt yyyy DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr rrrr eeee mmmm iiii nnnn dddd ssss hhhh iiii mmmmoooo ffff ,,,, AAAA kkkk bbbb uuuu llll uuuu tttt aaaa nnnn ssss wwww eeee rrrr ssss ““““ AAAA pppp eeee rrrr ffff eeee cccc tttt pppp eeee rrrr ssss oooo nnnn aaaa llll iiii tttt yyyy ;;;; ssss oooo mmmm eeee oooo nnnn eeee wwww hhhh oooocccc aaaa rrrr eeee ssss aaaa bbbb oooo uuuu tttt hhhh uuuu mmmm aaaa nnnn llll iiii vvvv eeee ssss ,,,, nnnn oooo tttt mmmm oooo nnnn eeee yyyy .... ””””

YYYY OOOO UUUU NNNN GGGG TTTT UUUU RRRR KKKK SSSS DDDD rrrr .... UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr hhhh aaaa ssss bbbb eeee eeee nnnn aaaa tttt tttt eeee nnnn dddd iiii nnnn gggg aaaa gggg rrrr oooo uuuu pppp mmmm eeee eeee tttt iiii nnnn gggg cccc oooo nnnn tttt iiii nnnn uuuu oooo uuuu ssss llll yyyyffff oooo rrrr tttt hhhh eeee llll aaaa ssss tttt 4444 0000 yyyy eeee aaaa rrrr ssss .... TTTT hhhh eeee mmmm eeee mmmm bbbb eeee rrrr ssss oooo ffff tttt hhhh eeee gggg rrrr oooo uuuu pppp cccc aaaa llll llll tttt hhhh eeee mmmm----ssss eeee llll vvvv eeee ssss ““““ YYYY oooo uuuu nnnn gggg TTTT uuuu rrrr kkkk ssss ”””” .... TTTT hhhh eeee ffff oooo uuuu nnnn dddd eeee rrrr ssss oooo ffff tttt hhhh eeee gggg rrrr oooo uuuu pppp aaaa rrrr eeee DDDD rrrr ....ZZZZ eeee kkkk iiii UUUU yyyy gggg uuuu rrrr ,,,, aaaa llll oooo nnnn gggg wwww iiii tttt hhhh jjjj oooo uuuu rrrr nnnn aaaa llll iiii ssss tttt DDDD oooo gggg aaaa nnnn UUUU llll uuuu cccc aaaa nnnn dddd SSSS iiii nnnn aaaa nnnnKKKK oooo rrrr llll eeee .... TTTT hhhh eeee mmmm eeee mmmm bbbb eeee rrrr ssss oooo ffff tttt hhhh eeee gggg rrrr oooo uuuu pppp bbbb eeee llll iiii eeee vvvv eeee tttt hhhh eeee ssss uuuu cccc cccc eeee ssss ssss iiii nnnn tttt hhhh eeeecontinuity of the group all this time has depended on three factors.The first one is that they do not talk about politics. The second oneis that religion is never a topic in any discussion. The third and lastone is the fact that spouses are never invited to these meetings.Around 30 people participate in each meeting. He was awarded a“thank you plaque” by his friends because of his contributions to theTurkish community at one of these meetings.

One of Uygur’s closest friends, Emirhan Buzlucali, points out that Dr.Uygur is very interested in Turkish literature. Dr. Uygur recites poemsthat have themes of love for one’s homeland and nation at the meet-ings of the Young Turks. Buzlucali, who has known him for 25 years,says, “Whoever needs a doctor, no matter in which different special-ty, he finds the best doctor. He is a kind of a health consultant for ourcommunity.”

NO MORE SURGERYDr. Uygur stopped doing surgery in 2005. His biggest wish is for theremoval of the monetary relations between the patients and the doc-tor. He says, “We doctors should not be thinking about money, itshould be other people’s job to do so.”

His close friend Mehmet Guven, who has known Dr. Uygur for 35


Photo by Cahit Oktay, Forum Newspaper.

TOA 14-17 3/19/09 2:14 PM Page 3

DR. ZEKI UYGUR

years, says, “If Zeki Uygur had cared about money, he would be a million-aire now, but money has never been a priority for him.” Mr. Guven alsoadds that he knew only two names from the piece of paper that he wasgiven when he first came to the U.S. in 1974. One of these names was Dr.Uygur. Mehmet Guven, who retired from the Permanent Mission ofTurkey to the United Nations, says he has not met one person who talkednegatively about Dr. Uygur.

LOOK AT THE RESULT… IS HE HEALING? Mehmet Guven has a memory that he witnessed with Dr. Zeki Uygur; amemory he can never forget. In the midst of 80’s, Yavuz, a police officerworking in the Turkish Consulate, had a child with a chronic disease andthe child needed treatment. The child was first brought to Dr. Uygur. Afterhaving treated him, Dr. Uygur forwarded the child to other doctors forother tests and treatment. He also asked these doctors to forward thebills to him. Not only did he not take any money for treating this child butalso he paid all these bills from the other doctors. Dr. Uygur also handedmoney in an envelope to the father’s child while he was in the hospital,asking to contribute more. Mehmet Guven felt like crying when he told usabout the story. He said, “Whenever I told Dr. Uygur that he is not takingmoney but they misuse his good intention, he always comes up with thesame response: ‘Look at the result, Mehmet… Is he healing?’”

HE OPENED AN ART EXHIBITHis friends say that Dr. Uygur is a passionate Fenerbahce, one of themost popular sports club in Turkey, fan. He tries not to miss any of theirsoccer games and he usually watches the games with his closestfriends, Emirhan Buzlucali and Prof. Etem Erol, at Ali Baba Restaurant

in Midtown Manhattan.

Another passion that Dr. Uygur has is art. Dr. Uygur lives in Long Islandand he exhibited the pictures he drew during the trips he made betweenhis house and his job in New York. He opened his last exhibit in April2007. At the opening of the exhibit, he said, “No matter how many oper-ations I have done, I would always do my next surgery with the excite-ment as if it was the first surgery. The 24-48 hour period after the surgeryis very stressful. This exhibit includes what I drew to relieve my mind.”Having started in 1974, Dr. Uygur has drawn over 1,000 pieces, most ofwhich were done on his train trips.

Dr. Uygur has always felt worried about the condition of the patient afterthe surgeries. He says even if he learns from the doctors that the patientis fine at night time, in the morning he would think about which foot heshould step forward with to enter the hospital for good luck. “There is a big difference between now and the 60’s & 70’s” Dr. Uygursays. “We, doctors, used to struggle in small hospitals in those years. Inrecent years, it is very common to see Turkish doctors in the managementdepartments of big hospitals. These doctors have achieved great suc-cess. I am proud. Now, forget about Zeki Uygur!” he adds humbly.

Dr. Uygur is also very proud of keeping the promise that he gave to hismother not to change his name when he came to the U.S.. Dr. Uygur treat-ed thousands of patients free of charge. He does not drive a car. He livesin a rented house in Long Island. He has been married to Ayla Uygur since1953 and they have two children. Dr. Uygur does not consider retiring. Oneof his favorite hobbies is going fishing. His favorite fish is young blue fish.


Dr. Zeki Uygur withhis friends

Burhan Ozcan,Mehmet Guven and

Ozdemir Kosal at oneof Young Turks

meetings inNew York.

(From left to right)

Phot

o Co

urte

sy o

f Meh

met

Guv

en

TOA 14-17 3/19/09 2:14 PM Page 4

THE STORY OF THE COP HE SAVED BECAME A MOVIE A very memorable event in Dr. Zeki Uygur’s life was saving the life of thepolice officer who revealed one of the worst corruption scandals in thehistory of New York Police Department. Dr. Uygur was the first to treatofficer Frank Serpico when he was brought to the emergency room at NewYork Greenpoint Hospital on February 3, 1971 after Serpico had been shotin a clash with his colleagues. When Frank Serpico wrote a book about hismemories, he mentioned Zeki Uygur in his book as the Turkish doctorwho saved his life in that hospital. Later, Frank Serpico’s life story wasturned into a movie by the director Sidney Lumet. Al Pacino played officerFrank Serpico in the movie. Dr. Uygur never told the media about FrankSerpico.

DEDICATION TO HUMANITY & HIS PEOPLEDr. Uygur shows the same care and closeness to everyone whether theyare a police officer well-known to Americans or a refugee just off the boat.His close friend Mehmet Guven summarizes Dr. Uygur’s sensitivity inthese words: “Let’s say a young Turkish man working in a gas station atthe very end of Long Island had an accident and Dr. Uygur coincidentallyheard this. He would not hesitate, he would not delay, he does not havea car but you would see him getting a train or a taxi to reach that hospitalto help this young Turkish man. He would help him monetarily. Whilegoing to this young man, he would not tell anyone about this, he wouldnot ask anyone to give him a ride. He is nonpareil.”

“Whenever someone in the Turkish community has any difficulty with thepolice, they first try to find me. If anyone has a health problem, they try toreach Dr. Uygur,” says Erhan Yildirim, a liaison between the New YorkPolice Department and the Muslim community in New York. He adds,“We, as a Turkish American community, are a very big family in the U.S.and Dr. Uygur is like our abi (the Turkish word for elder brother).”

ANOTHER SALVATOR ALTCHEK One of the members of Young Turks Group, who did not wish his namepublished, said Dr. Uygur is like Dr. Salvator Altchek for the Turkish com-munity. Dr. Salvator Altchek, who was known for 67 years as the $5 doc-tor to the melting pot of Brooklyn, especially the poorer residents of afflu-ent Brooklyn Heights, died in September 2002. He was 92. According tothe New York Times, Dr. Altchek continued to work until two monthsbefore his death. He delivered thousands of babies and generally attend-ed to the health needs of anyone who showed up at his basement officein the Joralemon Street row house in the Heights where he lived, charg-ing $5 or $10 when he charged at all.

The member of the Young Turks Group said Dr. Uygur has never beenmotivated by money and he added: “He has been practicing since 1969 inthe U.S. If you compare him to the other brain surgeons who have workedthat long, they have least two houses, loads of money in the bank andcomfortable lives, but Dr. Uygur does not.”

He told a story concerning Dr. Uygur helping his poor patients: “I heardthe story from the patient himself. When Dr. Uygur was practicing in LongIsland, NY, a Turkish patient needed a doctor. He found Dr. Uygur’s con-tact number and called him. He said he needed a doctor but he did nothave money. He was not able to come to the hospital either. At that time,Uygur was working in New York City. Uygur got his address and traveledto the address from New York City. After treating the patient, he went tothe pharmacy and paid for the medicines which the patient needed. Tothis day, that person tells this story about Dr. Uygur.”


TOA 14-17 3/19/09 2:14 PM Page 5

HAKAN USAL

For humans, the desire to fix physical imperfections orto recreate their looks may be as old as humanity it-

self. In our day people find themselves at the door ofplastic surgeons because they have the desire to have anew look, for psychological reasons or for medical rea-sons. Plastic surgeons fix imperfections or completelychange a part of the body with the touch of a scalpel,thanks to the advances in both technology and the me-dical practice. Neither a large nose, cellulite-ridden legsnor a sagging stomach has to haunt women anymore,nor do people have to live with the loss of a limb or a fa-

An average of

1200 surgeries are

performed at

Dr. Usal Cosmetic

Surgey Center per

year with 400 of

them aesthetic and

800 of them

reconstructive.

ce burned in a fire. All of these can be repaired with theuse of the plastic surgeons’ gifted hands. “Plastic sur-gery is a life changing experience,” says Dr. Hakan Usal,one of the most successful aesthetic and reconstructivesurgeons in New Jersey and the United States. He helpspatients reach their new desired physiques or reclaimtheir old image at his clinic, Dr. Usal Cosmetic SurgeyCenter. Dr. Usal, in addition to performing aesthetic sur-geries such as face, neck, waist and stomach surgeries,also performs reconstructive and microsurgeries surge-ries to repair damage to the face and hands.


Dr. Hakan UsalRecreates You

By Melda Akansel

TOA 18-19 3/19/09 3:09 PM Page 2

17 YEARS DEVOTED TO PLASTIC SURGERY Dr. Hakan Usal, who graduated from Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Me-dical School in 1986, took the first step toward becoming a surgeon bystarting a specialization in general surgery. He started his medical careeras a practitioner at the Russian border of Turkey at Mount Ararat whereNoah's Ark ship was lost. He later trained in general surgery at hospitalsin Istanbul and Ankara.

Dr. Usal, who then decided to pursue his studies in plastic surgery inScotland, had to repeat his general surgery studies while also pursuinghis specialty studies because his diploma from Turkey was not accepted.Then taking advantage of an offer, Dr. Usal came to the United States andrepeated his general surgery studies for a third time and his plastic sur-gery studies for a second time at Staten Island University in order to me-et the requirements of the American educational system. During the sa-me period, Dr. Usal, who had been accepted at NYU, finished his year-long microsurgery training and then went on to University of Medicine &Dentistry of New Jersey to finish his plastic surgery specialization.

Dr. Hakan Usal opened his own New Jersey clinic in 2000. Usal performshis emergency surgeries and microsurgeries, such as hand and finger re-attachments at the Hackensack University Medical Center, and he alsoworks in collaboration with Nyack Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital,Valley Hospital and Pascack Valley Hospital.

AN EXPERT IN FACIAL PLASTIC SURGERY Dr. Usal performs all of the facial plastic surgeries at Dr. Usal Cosmetic Sur-gey Center, which has a heavy patient load. Dr. Usal is experts in the fieldof breast and stomach surgeries. Breast reduction and enlargement, imp-lant placements, face-lifts, neck lifts, liposuction and stomach lifts are themost frequently performed plastic surgeries. In the field of reconstructivesurgeries the most common interventions are hand surgeries, broken bo-nes, broken hand bones, tissue repair and facial repairs. An average of1200 surgeries are performed at Dr. Usal Cosmetic Surgey Center per yearwith 400 of them aesthetic and 800 of them reconstructive.

Most of Dr. Usal’s plastic surgery patients hale from Italy or South Ameri-ca. Pointing out that South Americans are extremely focused on beautyand aesthetics, Dr. Usal says, “The women especially are interested inplastic surgery. They come to get their breasts enlarged, stomachs liftedor for liposuction.”

Dr. Usal says that he is very happy that he has many Turkish patients. Justas patients come to him from all four corners of the States, he also hasmany patients who especially come to him from Turkey. Dr. Usal also saysthat there are certain problems that he faces with his Turkish patients:“This is not something that is stressed too much in Turkey and it really isneither an accepted nor an understood practice either. When I say, ‘quitsmoking then I will perform the surgery’ the patients have an immediatenegative reaction. They tell me that no doctor in Turkey had ever sugges-ted such a thing.”Another large group among Dr. Hakan Usal’s patient profile is made up ofhis Armenian patients. Being that New Jersey has a large Armenian-Tur-kish population, many of these patients come to Dr. Usal Cosmetic Sur-gey Center.

NO SURGERY ON SMOKERS“Mostly my patients are middle-aged and are working professionals. Loo-king young and dynamic allows people to be more successful in the world

of business,” says Dr. Usal, speaking about the benefits of plastic sur-gery. He also stresses that this is a trend in the United States: “In Ameri-ca leaders, presidents, and managers are all athletically built, healthy, yo-uthful and energetic people. Here everyone wants to work with happy,healthy, confident and energetic people. This is exactly what plastic sur-gery provides and it increases people’s self-confidence. For example,when a woman gets breast enlargements she can choose her outfits ac-cordingly and when her self-confidence increases then this reflects backonto her professional and her social life. When plastic surgery is doneright, the right amount, then it can positively affect a person’s life.”

For this reason he does not operate on every patient who walks in; he firstdetermines if the person’s general health and psychological make up isappropriate for that particular surgery. For example he does not operateon patients who smoke. He explains his reason behind this: “The rate ofcomplications is much higher in patients who smoke. In smokers the skinheals slower, scarring is more prevalent and it is more likely that there willbe lung problems after the surgery.” He also does not immediately per-form surgeries on those people whom he terms “plastic surgery addicts;”he says these people are never happy with their appearances and he onlyperforms their surgeries if he deems it necessary.

LACK OF STANDARTIZATION IN TURKEYDr. Hakan Usal visits Turkey from time to time for various conferences andsays he is happy about the point that plastic surgery has reached in Tur-key today. Usal says that a high level has been reached in the educatio-nal system and that in the past few years he has come across many artic-les from Turkey published in American medical journals. Most of the sur-geries that are performed in the United States are also being performedin Turkey, says Usal, and then points out that the only difference betwe-en Turkey and the United States is standardization and that this is thecause of certain problems in Turkey. He goes onto say: “I do not feel thatthere is a huge gap between my colleagues there and here. I even consulton some issues and get advice from my Turkish colleagues. In Turkey, ho-wever, due to the educational system, each doctor’s knowledge and ex-perience varies. In the United States you will get a nearly similar resultfrom whichever plastic surgeon you go to. That plastic surgeon’s know-ledge and ability will usually be at a standard level. There is a level ofstandardization. This of course is a result of a level of standardization ineducation. But that does not exist in Turkey and even though the samethings are being done, the differences between plastic surgeons variesgreatly.”

“THE U.S. WELCOMES EVERYONE”Dr. Usal is a scientist who has accomplished much in the way of educati-on and career overseas. He is happy to be in the United States when it co-mes to the educational system and his profession. He summarizes all thathe has accomplished professionally by stating, “This country has givenme much that I had asked for. I received the world’s best plastic surgerytraining.” He points out that the United States welcomes all and adds:“As a doctor who lived and worked in Scotland and England for many ye-ars I witnessed a negative attitude towards Turkish people in certain pla-ces. This attitude even affected me even though I am a doctor. But fromthe first day that I came to this country I was received warmly. This is a co-untry that welcomes everyone and gives a working person a chance.” Dr.Usal, who as time goes by misses Turkey more and more, plans to takeall that he has accumulated, knowledge and experience, back to Turkeyin the future and is working on arranging a part-time working plan for he-re and Istanbul.!


TOA 18-19 3/19/09 3:09 PM Page 3

THE BEST OF NEW YORK

Every year, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. finds andnames doctors who are believed to be represen-

tative of America's top doctors and the hospitals inwhich they practice.

The “Best Doctors” list highlights 1,434 physicians,the top two percent in the metro area in various spe-cialties. The list is compiled from a peer-review sur-vey conducted by the New York City research and in-formation company, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.,which publishes an annual guidebook, Top Doctors:New York Metro Area.

The book lists the top 10 percent of physicians, mo-re than 6,000 in all, in New York City, WestchesterCounty, Long Island and portions of New Jersey andConnecticut.

According to the Castle Connolly America’s Top Doc-tor 2008 list, there are four Turkish-born physiciansnamed among the best doctors. These names arepsychiatrist T. Byram Karasu, cardiac surgeon M. Ari-san Ergin, Sukru Emre, and pediatric endocrinologistLevon Agdere. You can read Sukru Emre’s story onpage 34-35 of this issue. Below are the details of ot-her three physicians.

T. BYRAM KARASUT. Byram Karasu, M.D. completed his psychiatric re-sidency at Yale University. He is presently SilvermanProfessor and the University Chairman of the Depart-ment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at AlbertEinstein College of Medicine and Psychiatrist-in-Chi-ef at Montefiore Medical Center. The author or editorof sixteen books, author or co-author of more than100 papers, editorial board member of nine journals,Dr. Karasu currently is the Editor-in-Chief of the Ame-rican Journal of Psychotherapy, and a DistinguishedLife Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association(APA). He has been the recipient of numerousawards, including the Sigmund Freud Award and theAPA's Presidential Commendation.From 1979-1982, Dr. Karasu chaired the APA’s Com-mission on Psychiatric Therapies, which produced acritical review of psychosocial and somatic therapi-es. In 1981, Dr. Karasu was appointed chairman ofanother national task force comprised of over 400scholars, researchers, and clinicians with the goal ofproducing a seminal document describing the treat-ment of each psychiatric disorder. (Source: AlbertEinstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University)

The “Best Doctors”

list highlights 1,434

physicians, the top

two percent in the

metro area in various

specialties.

MEHMET ARISAN ERGIN M. Arisan Ergin, MD, PhD is the chairman of the De-partment of Cardiothoracic Surgery and co-founderof the program at Englewood Hospital and MedicalCenter. His achievements over a career spanningthree decades include the attainment of a full profes-sorship at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, whereDrs. Ergin, Klein and McCullough first met. Dr. Er-gin’s authorship of more than 90 original scientificpublications has earned him an international reputa-tion for his expertise in aortic surgery. His goal of bu-ilding the finest cardiac surgery unit in the regionhas been realized at Englewood Hospital and Medi-cal Center.

LEVON AGDEREAfter graduating from the private Sahakyan-NunyanArmenian High School in Fatih, Istanbul in 1975, Le-von Agdere completed his studies at Cerrahpasa Me-dical Faculty of Istanbul University, in 1981. Dr. Agdere’s main specialty is pediatric endocrino-logy and he has been practicing for about 25 years inthe New York metropolitan area. During his first years in the U.S., he completed his re-sidency at Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn betwe-en 1983-1986, then worked at NY Hospital-CornellMedical Center between 1986-1989. Being board certified for pediatrics and pediatric en-docrinology, Dr. Agdere has a very busy schedule.He is affiliated with New York Methodist Hospital,Brooklyn Hospital Center, and Wyckoff Heights Me-dical Center. Dr Agdere’ special expertise is diabe-tes, short stature in children and thyroid disorders.He is a member of the Brooklyn Pediatric Society. !


New York's TopTurk›sh Doctors

New York Magazine ‘the Best Doctors’ issue.

TOA 20-21 3/19/09 3:10 PM Page 2

TOA 20-21 3/19/09 3:10 PM Page 3

CANER Z. D‹NLENÇ

Dr. Caner Z. Dinlenç uses a robotic sur-gical method to perform prostate

surgeries without the need for a scalpel,removing this surgery from being manya man’s most feared nightmare. Alsoperforming kidney stone surgeries withthe same method, Dr. Caner Z. Dinlenç hasbeen signing off on success after successin the United States with his team at theBeth Israel Medical Center.

Dr. Caner Z. Dinlenç was born in the UnitedStates, his father having moved to that co-untry in the sixties to pursue a master’s in en-gineering. The Dinlenç family, who had thrownthemselves into their careers, decided to sett-le for good once their children were born andthey have been there ever since. Caner Dinlençpursued his studies in the United States andthen choosing medicine, went on to study atBoston University Medical School. After stayingin Boston for fourteen years, Dinlenç returnedto New York and started a year-long specializa-tion in Urological Surgery and Laparoscopy atthe Long Island Jewish Center. Dr. Dinlenç wasvery careful and fastidious when he was choo-sing his field of specialty. The fact that therewere not many urologists in his field and thatthere were only 3-5 in the whole country attrac-ted his attention. Another point of interest for Din-lenç was that the use of technology was very commonin urology. “In the early nineties, urology was the one

Dr. Caner Dinlenç

examines nearly

300 patients each

month and his

surgical program is

also quite full;

he dons his scrubs an

average of thirty

times per month.


Dr. D›nlençDef›es theProstatew›th ARobot

By Melda Akansel

TOA 22-23 3/19/09 5:06 PM Page 2

within all of the surgical specialties that was the most open to the useof technology. That’s why I went into that direction,” he says as heexplains why he chose urology.

Among the many Turkish patients that Dr. Caner Dinlenç sees, manycome from Turkey specifically to be treated by him. He also has pati-ents from all over the United States with New York, New Jersey andConnecticut leading the way. He says, “Ten to fifteen Turkish pati-ents come to me per month, on average. As they refer me to oneanother this number keeps growing.” Dr. Caner Dinlenç examines ne-arly 300 patients each month and his surgical program is also quitefull; he dons his scrubs an average of thirty times per month.

ROBOTIC PROSTATE SURGERY ON THE INTERNET The robotic prostate surgery that Dr. Caner Dinlenç has been perfor-ming in his field of specialty for the past seven years can be seen onthe Internet. He explains the importance and the specifics of this sur-gery that does not use a scalpel, therefore reducing blood loss: “Weperform this surgery with a three armed robot. I sit at a computer andI perform the surgery by remote control. We perform the whole pro-cedure without having to cut the patient open; we enter throughthree small holes smaller then the dimensions of a pencil. This pro-cedure allows for the patient to have a much easier recuperation pro-cess, especially when we are removing cancerous cells. It is also veryimportant for the man not to lose his erectile potential. With this sur-gery it is much more of a possibility to save the nerves from dama-

ge.” Another important factor with this surgical process is that thereis less blood loss. In an open surgery, a blood loss of two liters isconsidered normal, but with this surgery that blood loss is about tenpercent of that. Yet one more advantage of this method is that thepatient returns to normal daily activities within two weeks; forexample going back to work is no problem.

KIDNEY SURGERIES Dr. Dinlenç, who no longer performs open surgeries, also uses thesame method to performs kidney surgeries, in addition to prostatesurgeries. As he recounts his specialty, methods and experiences tomedical students in classrooms, he also travels nationally and inter-nationally to conferences to which he is invited to share his knowled-ge with his colleagues. Dr. Dinlenç is also invited to many conferen-ces in Turkey where he is able to meet his colleagues during his lec-tures, which he gives both in Turkish and English.

Dr. Caner Z. Dinlenç’s future career plan is to teach the surgical pro-cedure that he performs to other surgeons and to ensure that it be-comes more widespread. In this aim he is very fastidious about teac-hing his assistants, as well as the doctors who travel from Turkey tolearn from him. Additionally, Dr. Dinlenç also places importance onshowing the way to young medical students and doctors, especiallythose who come from Turkey. He would like the surgeries thathe performs to be performed in Turkey, but he says that it is stilldifficult.!


TOA 22-23 3/19/09 5:06 PM Page 3

DR. ÖZGEN DO⁄AN

Unquestionably, heart attacks are the biggest healththreat to people today and the medical community

is making great efforts to try to solve this problem. Dr.Ozgen Dogan tries to call attention to the importance ofa healthy heart by saying, “The number one killer in themodern world is heart problems and the heart attacksthat are caused by this.” He also states that many thingsraise the risk of a heart attack, from bad nutrition to be-ing overweight, from stress to not getting enough exer-cise. Dr. Ozgen Dogan practices not only at ColumbiaUniversity and Long Island College Hospital, but he hasalso been one of New York’s most successful cardiolo-gists, protecting the hearts of thousands of patients forthe past twenty years at his own clinic.

Ozgen Dogan, like all Robert College students, had alre-ady decided to go to the United States while still in scho-ol and had chosen to pursue industrial engineering in At-lanta. His first step in realizing this dream was the uni-versity entrance exams and achieving the necessaryscores. However, at the last minute the attraction of themedical field was so great that Ozgen Dogan found him-self at Istanbul University Medical School, following along forgotten childhood dream. Always keeping theUnited States in the back of his mind, Dogan graduatedfrom the Cerrahpasa School of Medicine and then star-ted an internal medicine specialization in Boston in 1989before continuing at Cornell University and Long IslandCollege Hospital for specialization in cardiology. Dr. Oz-

Dr. Dogan

points out that

Turkish patients in

New York and in the

United States are

usually under a great

amount of stress,

and that especially

because the

percentage that

smoke is so high,

Turkish people are in

a high risk group.

gen Dogan also has specializations in the fields of eco-cardiology and nuclear cardiology.There are three cardiologists, including Dr. Ozgen Do-gan, and two internists at his clinic. As medical techno-logy advances, Dr. Dogan and his team follow each la-test advance and they can conduct any test that can bedone in a hospital right there in the clinic.

Dr. Dogan has a heavy patient load at Columbia Univer-sity and Long Island College Hospital and at his own cli-nic, and among them he has many Turkish patients. Tur-kish patients usually come to Dr. Dogan either throughword of mouth or through what they read about him inthe media. Dr. Dogan usually gets about fifteen Turkishpatients per week, and he has also many patients comefrom Turkey to see him. Dr. Dogan points out that Tur-kish patients in New York and in the United States areusually under a great amount of stress, and that especi-ally because the percentage that smoke is so high, Tur-kish people are in a high risk group. “Moving to a fore-ign country usually creates a lot of stress, especially du-ring the transition period due to problems with langua-ge and cultural differences, and this causes the personto smoke much more,” says Dr. Dogan as he states thatTurkish people usually smoke a lot.Dr. Ozgen Dogan has a lot of memories about his manyTurkish patients. One that he cannot forget is this: A Tur-kish patient came to him when he first started to work asa cardiologist in New York. This patient, who had a largehole in his heart, had jumped ship and come to the Uni-ted States, so he did not have any kind of insurance. Dr.Dogan, whose mother’s side is from Kirklareli, lent hishelp to this man from his region and with the help ofcharitable organizations, first he performed an angiog-ram and then during his surgery he repaired the heartvalves and the hole in his heart. Dr. Dogan is still in to-uch with this patient who is in great health now and anAmerican citizen living in Philadelphia with his wife andtwo children.

For Dr. Ozgen Dogan, who is extremely dedicated to hiscareer, each day coming to work is a whole new beginningand extremely exciting. He has decided that he will workall of his life, not even thinking of retiring. As he explainswhy he loves his career so much, he says, “The things thattie me to this profession and make me so happy are firstof all dealing with the patients and making them betterand second of all to teach the medical students and thechief interns in order to guide them and continue with re-search.” Dr. Dogan fits in attending conferences in Turkeyinto his heavy schedule, and he also tries to vacation asmuch as possible in Turkey. He also states that as timegoes by his yearning for Turkey gets greater and greaterand that he hopes in the future to be able to spend threeor four months every year in Turkey.!


Heart Fr›endly Dr. Özgen Do¤an

Dr. Ozgen Doganpractices not only atColumbia University

and Long IslandCollege Hospital,

but he has also beenone of New York’s

most successful cardiologists.

By Melda Akansel

TOA 24-25 3/19/09 4:31 PM Page 2

TOA 24-25 3/19/09 4:31 PM Page 3

PINAR ATAKENT

Dr. P›nar Atakent is one of New York’s most success-ful physiotherapists and New York Magazine has

chosen her as one of the top ten doctors in her field ofspecialization for the past twelve years. Dr. Atakent,who took the first step toward her career at HacettepeUniversity Medical Center, has been working for the past28 years at Long Island College Hospital, one of NewYork’s top hospitals.

Due to some coincidence, P›nar Atakent, who was hadbeen making plans to enter the political science depart-ment to go into foreign affairs, ended up in medicalschool instead. Canceling her full scholarship enroll-ment at the last moment, P›nar Atakent then started hermedical training at the then newly founded HacettepeUniversity. While Atakent was still a student, she hadidealistic plans of going back to her village as a doctorafter the end of six years of training, but under the influ-ence of her teacher Prof. Nusret Fisek, she changed hermind and decided to do her specialization in publichealth.

Under the leadership of Prof. Nusret Fisek, who was theperson to develop the field of public health in Turkey,she did two years in her specialization as well as addi-tional training in obstetrics and gynecology at SincanVillage Clinic and in the villages around Sincan. Afterwatching her professors, who at that time were mainlyAmerican, Dr. P›nar Atakent decided to go to the UnitedStates to further her career. Dr. P›nar Atakent did notdelay this decision of hers to move to the United States.

Dr. P›nar Atakent

started working as a

specialist in 1981 at

the Physical Therapy

and Rehabilitation

department at Long

Island College

Hospital where she

has been chief for the

past seventeen years.

Her mother had a stroke the year that she entered med-ical school and that led her to change her specialty fromobstetrics and gynecology to physical therapy. Enteringthis field with the desire to help her mother and otherpatients who were experiencing the same problems, Dr.Atakent trained in her specialization at YeshivaUniversity and then she became chief intern at New YorkUniversity. Dr. P›nar Atakent started working as a spe-cialist in 1981 at the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitationdepartment at Long Island College Hospital where shehas been chief for the past seventeen years.

Dr. Atakent has been furthering her career in the UnitedStates for a very long time and for the past twelve yearsshe has been chosen by New York Magazine as one ofthe top ten doctors in her field. Atakent, who is verymodest on the subject of her achievements, sees herbiggest accomplishment as being the only Muslim andTurkish woman department chief at Long Island CollegeHospital. She describes people’s reactions: “When theyhear of a Turkish woman or a Muslim they imagine awoman who is covered and who says yes to everythingher husband demands. They cannot even accept that aTurkish woman can graduate from university or that shecan come to the United States to practice her chosencareer.” Atakent, who symbolizes the Turkish womanand her successes in the best way, sparks people’s sur-prise even more when she tells them that her mothergraduated in 1942 with an archeology degree fromAnkara University School of Language, History, andGeography.

A CAPTAIN IN THE AMERICAN ARMY Dr. P›nar Atakent was a doctor in the American Armybetween 1982-1991 but then she left the army at thetime when the Gulf War started. Atakent, who was serv-ing as a captain, then served in different army hospitalson the weekends as well as working at Long IslandCollege Hospital. Dr. Atakent explains why she took onthis responsibility by saying, “Wherever they are in theworld, soldiers are only serving their own country’s pol-itics. They are just as innocent and as well intentioned asour own soldiers.”

Dr. Atakent has lived through many experiences in thelong years that she has been working in the UnitedStates and has many memories that make her proud asa Turkish woman. One of these moments was when shewas still serving in the American army and a typicalTexan patient came to her with a cowboy hat on his headand boots on his feet. The Texan patient, who had notbeen able to find a diagnosis for his ailment for months,had a condescending expression on his face when hesaw a mere woman doctor in front of him and then hewent on to ask her where she was from. At first he did


One of the MostSuccessfulPhys›otherap›sts ›nNew York

By Melda Akansel

P›nar Atakent has been working for the past 28 years at Long Island College Hospital.

TOA 26-29 revize.qxd 3/21/09 1:16 AM Page 2

PINAR ATAKENT

not trust this doctor who came from a country he had not even heard of.

But then when Dr. P›nar Atakent correctly diagnosed him and he startedto get better after his treatment he showed his gratitude by telling her,“You, as a female doctor from a country I had never heard of, diagnosedme correctly and made me better.” During that same period Atakent wasin Washington for short-term duty when she took on the treatment of anAmerican general. When the general found out that Dr. P›nar Atakent wasTurkish, he got out of his sick bed and stood in salute. He thankedAtakent, saying that he had served in the Korean War alongside Turkishsoldiers and that ever since he had wanted to be able to salute a Turkishperson and that she had given him this opportunity.

Due to the location of Long Island College Hospital, where she works, themajority of the patients she sees are Italian in origin, but she also hasmany Turkish patients. Dr. Atakent’s patients usually work in physicallychallenging jobs such as at restaurants or gas stations. Additionally shesees many student patients. From time to time Atakent also treatspatients who come from Turkey. Besides being a very successful doctor,Atakent is also known for her sense of charity; she is very fastidious,especially when it comes to doing physical examination reports for youngmen going into the army and she does these for free. “Young men goinginto the army now know they can call me for their reports. When they callin to get an appointment and the secretary asks them what kind of insur-ance they have they generally answer ‘what are you talking about, I’mTurkish’ or ‘what do you mean, I’m Turkish’, and now the secretary is alsoused to this.”

Although she has been working and living in the United States for thepast thirty two years, Dr. P›nar Atakent finds the state of current medicalpractice in Turkey both very satisfactory and hopeful. According to the lat-est figures, she says that Turkey is among the top thirteen countries inpublishing scientific articles and that she no longer sees as many patientswho come from Turkey for treatment. “I send foreign speakers from hereto speak at lectures and conferences in Turkey. They are all experts intheir various fields. When they return they always praise Turkish doctorsand their educational and knowledge levels. ‘There is nothing left for usto teach them’ they say.”

Another characteristic of Dr. Atakent, who has dedicated herself com-pletely to her career, is that she has aided many Turkish colleagues incoming to the United States. For years she has hosted Turkish physio-therapists to gain experience at her side and she is very proud of this fact.She says, “Many physiotherapists who are in important positions inTurkey have come and observed at my side for a few months and we haveseen patients together. We have learned a lot from each other.” After9/11, just as it is in all other arenas, it has also been harder to get a visa;therefore Turkish doctors cannot travel as easily as they could before. Aninvitation from Dr. P›nar Atakent is no longer sufficient; now the hospitaladministration needs to be aware of the person who will be visiting.

Even though Dr. Atakent is far away from Turkey, her heart is still inTurkey and with her loved ones there. She attends conferences frequent-ly and she prefers to spend her vacation time in Turkey. But still her long-ing for Turkey is within her at all times. One morning as she was walkingto work she happened to see a ship anchored near the hospital that hadhoisted a Turkish flag. She got so excited she could not keep still and herheart was pounding. For a whole week she looked out at the ship fromher office many times a day. At the end of the week when she saw that

the ship was gone, she could not hold back her tears. She described herfeeling and her yearning: “When the ship left it touched me so much, itwas as if it had abandoned me here all alone. Each time I saw the ship ithad given me the feeling that I could go to Turkey at anytime.” She saysthat the new generation that has come from Turkey is so much luckier andadds, “In our time there were no Turkish stores or restaurants. It wasimpossible to even find yogurt or tomato paste. For the first two monthsI cooked with ketchup. For a long time I had my mother send me tomatopaste. It was also extremely hard to call Turkey. You would ask to be con-nected, then the gendarme would get connected and then just as youwere speaking, the lines would go dead.” Another thing that has stuck inP›nar Atakent’s mind from those days was Inci Fenik and Faruk Fenik’sradio program. “They would give us the news, saying automobile priceshave gone up, cigarette prices have gone up. Our only connection toTurkey was this. Now it is almost as if New York is an extension ofTurkey.”

Dr. P›nar Atakent’s goals for the future are to be able to pass on herknowledge and her experiences to the next generation of doctors. As adoctor who has dedicated her life to her profession and who has spentmany years in the United States, she has one thing that she alwaysadvises her students: “Do not do anything to your patients that youwould not do to yourself or to your loved ones. See your patients asmembers of your family. Treat them in that manner, approach them inthat manner.”!



TURGUT YET‹L

Dr. Yetil is the

partner of a practice

that is responsible for

providing health care

services to 15,000 in

Connecticut.

Dr. Turgut Yetil has been practicing internal me-dicine in Newington, Connecticut for 12 years

now. He has an extremely busy working schedule;being affiliated with three different medical institu-tions, he is sometimes on call 7 days of week - justlike many other medical doctors in the United Sta-tes. What distinguishes him from many others ho-wever, is, his story starts in a wood stove heatedroom in a small Anatolian city, Kars.

Today he's the partner of a practice that is respon-sible for providing health care services to 15,000 inConnecticut - a rather prosperous state with thehighest per capita income in the country. We askedDr. Yetil about being an M.D. in the United States,the health system, advice for new-comers to the fi-eld, as well as his own personal journey in the pro-fession.

DDrr.. YYeettiill,, hhooww lloonngg hhaavvee yyoouu pprraaccttiicciinngg mmeeddiicciinnee iinntthhee UU..SS..?? HHaavvee yyoouu pprraaccttiicceedd mmeeddiicciinnee iinn TTuurrkkeeyy??CCoouulldd yyoouu tteellll uuss yyoouurr ffiirrsstt ddaayyss aass aa ddooccttoorr,, aannddyyoouurr eexxppeerriieenncceess?? I graduated from medical school in 1987. IstanbulUniversity Medical School (Çapa T›p) was one of

two schools of that were popular in Istanbul. Aftergraduation I was appointed to the city of Kars thro-ugh the obligatory service arrangement which wasin effect at the time. Between working as a medicaldoctor for the Kars dept of education and doing aresidency in family medicine in Istanbul, I spentthree years in Turkey.

My first days after graduating medical school weresome of the more exciting days of my life. The bustrip to Kars was long but not boring thanks to a newmilitary recruit who was also going to his assign-ment for the first time. Being in the middle of Janu-ary and one of the coldest years, I had asked theKars taxi driver to make sure to take me to a cen-trally heated hotel. Well I ended up in a wood stoveroom that dwindled away to leave me sleeping inminus 40 degrees. The hotel owner new the taxi dri-ver well. It figures. For the next year and a half Iworked in new and relatively luxurious clinics withtwo other doctors. Lots of long lines was the hallmark of medicine in Turkey. It was fun visiting villa-ge schools for medical services. The city was a be-autiful historical place with a river passing throughand a fort on top of a central hill. I enjoyed it.

HHooww lloonngg hhaavvee yyoouu bbeeeenn lliivviinngg iinn tthhee UU..SS..?? CCoouullddyyoouu tteellll uuss aabboouutt yyoouurr ffiirrsstt ddaayyss iinn tthhee UU..SS..,, aannddtthhee pprroocceessss tthhaatt yyoouu hhaavvee ggoonnee tthhrroouugghh iinn oorrddeerr ttoopprraaccttiiccee mmeeddiicciinnee iinn tthhee UU..SS..?? WWaass llaanngguuaaggee aacchhaalllleennggee ffoorr yyoouu?? WWaass yyoouurr ttrraaiinniinngg iinn mmeeddiicciinneessuuffffiicciieenntt?? After applying and passing the qualification examsin the U.S., I went through a matching processwhich involved interviews in medical schools for aninternal medicine residency program. I matchedwith University of Connecticut Internal medicine re-sidency program and stayed in the area after gradu-ation. I am part of a single specialty group of twodoctors and one advanced nurse practitioner forthe past 12 years.

Regarding the language barrier, although I had nolanguage problems thanks to my childhood in Aus-tralia [Dr. Yetil lived in Australia between ages 6-12as his parents were included in the first wave of im-migrant workers in 1960s], it took some gettingused to the US medical system. First of all the res-ponsibilities of the doctors in the U.S. were disper-


Journey of an M.D.From Kars to New›ngton,Connect›cut

By Duygu [email protected]

Dr. Yetil with his colleagues.

TOA 30-31 3/19/09 4:44 PM Page 2

sed between ancillary groups, such as enhanced nursing responsi-bilities, phlebotomists, lab technicians, nurses aides, transportati-on, voluntary personnel etc. This gave the whole process of patientcare a smooth flow. Another significant difference was the level ofcommunication between all personnel. This was far advanced thanTurkey in the U.S. Finally I realized that practical, “hands on” me-dicine was much more emphasized in the U.S. schools. This wasthanks to the ratio of two or three residents/students to educatorscompared to the 15 to one ratio of my time in Turkey.

CCoouulldd yyoouu tteellll uuss mmoorree aabboouutt yyoouurr ttrraannssiittiioonn ttoo wwoorrkk aass aa ddooccttoorr iinntthhee SSttaatteess??My transition to working after residency was rather easy. I had anoffer to join one of the local doctors in his practice. I was initiallysalaried for two years. This allowed me to have an income while Iwas building up my practice. Subsequently I joined the practice asa partner. Things have been busy ever since.

WWhhaatt aarree tthhee aaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff hhaavviinngg yyoouurr uunnddeerrggrraadduuaattee mmeeddiicciinneeeedduuccaattiioonn iinn TTuurrkkeeyy?? I think my advantage of being a foreign medical graduate was tobetter understand and communicate with the immigrant populati-on of Connecticut. Being able to help the local Turkish communityis also rewarding.

CCoouulldd yyoouu ddeessccrriibbee aa ttyyppiiccaall ddaayy aatt tthhee ooffffiiccee?? On a typical day I round on my patients in the hospital, followed byseeing patients in the office. Our office patient census is around15,000. In a busy day I see about 35 to 40 patients. It averages outto be 25 – 30 patients a day. I also get to see nursing home resi-dents once or twice a week. Doing part time hospice work gives methe opportunity to work with hospice nurses, clerics and end of lifeissues [hospice: a program of medical and emotional care for theterminally ill.]

Do you come across Turks often at work? You do not have an ac-cent; do your colleagues realize you are Turkish? I can’t say I don’t have an accent. It shifts subtly between New Yorkand British [due to Australia years.] But yes, I don’t have a Turkishaccent except when speaking Turkish.

WWhhaatt aarree yyoouurr tthhoouugghhttss oonn tthhee hheeaalltthh ccaarree ssyysstteemm iinn tthhee UU..SS..?? WWeekknnooww tthhee UU..SS.. iiss nnoott aa ssoocciiaall ssttaattee iinn tthhee ccllaassssiiccaall sseennssee,, ccaann yyoouussaayy tthhaatt cciittiizzeennss hhaavvee aacccceessss ttoo qquuaalliittyy hheeaalltthh sseerrvviiccee?? It’s not a secret that the health system in the U.S. is not perfect.There are over 40 million people uninsured and much, much morethat are under insured. This is in the face of budget breaking infla-tion in the health care industry. It’s in dire need of fixing, startingwith capping the liability insurance burden on doctors. One thingthat’s positive is that once you have insurance you do get high qua-lity care. This includes having good quality and fast service.

DDoo yyoouu tthhiinnkk iitt iiss aann eeffffiicciieenntt ssyysstteemm?? CCoouulldd yyoouu eevvaalluuaattee tthhiissffrroomm tthhee vviieewwppooiinntt ooff ddooccttoorrss aanndd ppaattiieennttss?? Health insurance is very complex in the U.S. There are too many in-surance companies that offer a myriad of various insurance plans.To top it all the plans keep changing frequently so that no one issure what their plan exactly offers. If you’re not a lawyer that readsthe fine prints in the plans, you may be stuck with big unpaid bills.

Not even the doctors can keep up with which medications are cove-red under which insurance plans. The whole industry is very expen-sive to run.

For the doctors, technology is what runs up the price on health ca-re. Becoming more efficient requires electronic gadgets and software programs which cost a lot.

WWhhaatt iiss yyoouurr aaddvviiccee ffoorr tthhoossee wwhhoo wwaanntt ttoo pprraaccttiiccee mmeeddiicciinnee iinn tthheeUU..SS..?? I enjoy being a medical doctor in the U.S. very much. I get to be adoctor without worrying about availability of technical, social andfinancial services. Abundance of support staff makes life easier.First step of practicing medicine here is to take the foreign medicalgraduate exams step one, step two and step three (Preclinical andclinical sciences.) Once the first two tests are passed you can applyfor the matching program for residency. A diploma and the curricu-lum of your medical school will be required for the application pro-cess. It’s not often that we see Turkish Doctors here. I think the lan-guage barrier has been a major problem in the past. Maybe proxi-mity to Europe also makes the U.S. a second degree choice for Tur-kish graduates.

TThhaannkk yyoouu ffoorr yyoouurr ttiimmee DDrr.. YYeettiill.. IItt wwaass nniiccee ttaallkkiinngg ttoo yyoouu..Thank you this interview Duygu. I rather enjoyed it.!


TOA 30-31 3/19/09 4:44 PM Page 3

DR. VEDAT OBUZ

Trenton, NJ –

It is possible to call

Vedat Obuz an

inventor,

a businessman,

an entrepreneur,

and a sufi in addition

to his other titles:

a doctor and

a scientist.

Dr. Obuz points out the fact that his belief in Sufismled to important changes in his life. He says,“Serving every human positively and humanely nomatter who they are helped me be nominated as thenumber one doctor according to a survey conductedamong 90,000 Medicaid patients in 1996. This wasthe result of my belief in mysticism & the universalcall of Rumi.”

A PIONEER OF “MEDICAL HOME”One of the projects that Dr. Obuz is investing in iscalled the “Medical Home Concept.” The objective ofthe project is “to make the patients feel at home.”This project, which will be implemented for the firsttime in New Jersey, will include 60 doctors. A similarproject has been implemented with 80 doctors inPennsylvania.

Every doctor will have 1/60 share in the project andthey will be required to invest $50K. So, the capitalfor the foundation of the Medical Home Center willbe $3M. The Medical Home Center, which will bemanaged by a professional CEO, will host the latest


A Doctor, A Scientist, AnInventor, An Entrepreneur:Vedat Obuz

A Doctor, A Scientist, AnInventor, An Entrepreneur:Vedat Obuz

Dr. Obuz came to Minnesota University to pursuegraduate studies leading to a Ph.D with the

TUBITAK/NATO scholarship he won (he took firstplace in 1989) after having worked in the foundationof the first Bone Marrow Transplant Center in Ankaraduring his senior year in medical school. Along withhis Turkish co-worker, scientist Fatih Uckun, Dr.Obuz worked on a lot of important projects pub-lished in prestigious medical journals such as Blood,PNAS, and Radiation Oncology.

When Dr. Obuz first arrived in the U.S., his dreamwas to add a Children’s Department to the BoneMarrow Transplant Center in Ankara. He finished hisPh.D. at the Oncology and Bone Marrow Departmentat the University of Minnesota. Having seen the factthat his options would be limited if he returned toTurkey without getting a specialization degree, hedecided to go on with his studies with an InternalMedicine & Pediatrics dual program, which wouldalso help him to get to know the U.S. healthcare sys-tem better. Dr. Obuz got his specialization degreesin Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at Albert EinsteinMedical Center in Philadelphia in 1996.

After having gotten his specialization degrees, hestarted to work in the capital of New Jersey; Trenton,since the immigration laws allow doctors with athree year employment history to obtain a greencard. He first worked for the insurance company HIPof NJ in Trenton. After the company went bankrupt in1999, he established Lotus Clinics.

TOA 32-33 3/19/09 4:45 PM Page 2

technology in patient follow-ups and records. It is expected to beopened in Trenton in the first week of April.

THE RIGHT DIAGNOSE WITH THE SURVEYDr. Obuz, besides his investments, presents the applications he usesin his office for use in other doctors’ offices. Dr. Obuz’s software,VVMD ™; Visionary Visual Medical Doctor, transfers every stage ofthe patient’s visit, from his arrival at the clinic until his departure, todigital media. Every patient visiting the clinic fills out a one-minutesurvey. The purpose of this survey, which is done on a touch-screen,is to provide the right treatment for the patient. Dr. Obuz holds thepatent for the application. The application aims to reach better diag-nosis results for the patients by minimizing the human factor. It hasthousands of different combinations in its test bank database. Theapplication was built on an open-source platform and can beimproved by software developers.

AN INVENTORDr. Obuz holds patents on two products. Six products are in line toget patented. Respowell, a spacer developed by Dr. Obuz for asthmapatients, not only helps the patient use the medicine more efficient-ly, but also helps with decreasing the waste of medicine. The toolsaves 40% of the regular costs. Dr. Obuz said he would be willing tosell his product, without any profit, to any institutions and non-prof-it organizations who want to help asthma patients in Turkey.

TURKEY MEETS WITH BIO CITYDr. Obuz is working on a worldwide brand new project, “Bio City”which will be a great gift to Istanbul. This “Bio City Project”, whichbrings a breath of fresh air to the healthcare system, is supported byinternational investors. Opro LLC, a company established by Dr.Obuz and his brother Ibrahim Obuz, who lives in Turkey and is a doc-tor as well, will be in charge of choosing the doctors and trainingthem for the new Bio City Hospital. !


Representative Rush Holt,12th District of New Jersey

visited Dr. Obuz office to supportthe campaign for children.

TOA 32-33 3/19/09 4:45 PM Page 3

DR. fiÜKRÜ EMRE

There is one

transplant

surgery in

particular that

has caused

New York Magazine

to choose Dr. Emre,

who has not only

attracted the

attention of the

medical world,

but also its praise,

as one of the

top ten best doctors

of 2007.


Dr. Emre Prov›des aBrand New Lease on L›fe

By Melda Akansel

TOA 34-35 3/19/09 4:47 PM Page 2

Dr. fiükrü Emre, who has helped thousands of patients get a newliver, provides his patients with a brand new lease on life.

Emre was director of the adult and pediatric liver transplant pro-grams at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York for five yearsbefore joining the Yale faculty in July 2007. According to the CastleConnolly America’s Top Doctor 2008 list, Sukru Emre is one of theTurkish-born physicians named among the best doctors. Dr. Emrealso makes great efforts for liver transplantation to become moreprevalent and advanced in Turkey.

He transferred to Yale-New Haven Transplantation Center as direc-tor of the center and section chief of transplant surgery andimmunology in the Department of Surgery two years ago. He says:“Everyone is extremely enthusiastic about making the liver trans-plant program one of the best in the nation. It’s a real team effort,and I’m happy to be the leader of this team.”

After his arrival, he began reorganizing the transplant program,implementing a process for meeting the myriad regulatoryrequirements, developing an academic calendar and identifying anew database for the tissue typing lab. The center’s waiting list forliver transplants grown from about five to 40, and Emre’s goal is tosee it grow to between 100 and 150 within a year. There are morethan 16,500 Americans awaiting livers for transplant, according tothe United Network for Organ Sharing.

In his short time in New Haven, Emre made history by performinga split-liver transplant, the first in Connecticut. The recipient wasa 7-month-old boy with biliary atresia, a defect that afflicts about1 in 10,000 infants and is the most common reason for pediatricliver transplants.

“MY ROAD WAS SHOTER…”Dr. fiükrü Emre was working as an assistant professor in Turkeybefore he came to New York and just like all other Turkish doctorsin the United States, he found himself caught in a very hectictempo. Most often doctors who come from Turkey to the U.S. haveto go through additional training despite their previous academictraining and specialties; however, Dr. Emre did research for ashort time as a fellow and research fellow before he was acceptedas a doctor due to his extensive research and publishing back-ground in Turkey. He himself acknowledges that “I did not have tostart from scratch, my road was shorter because I had alreadycome here as a professor.”

Dr. fiükrü Emre graduated in 1977 from Istanbul University MedicalCollege; he then did his surgical assistantship and then his asso-ciate professorship at the same University. Dr. Emre then decidedto go to the U.S. in order to learn liver transplantation and startedto work at the Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Emre worked for awhole year on liver, heart and intestinal transplants on test ani-mals and then he became chief intern at Mount Sinai Hospital.Sukru Emre, a liver and kidney specialist who arrived at Yale inJuly 2007 from Mount Sinai, leads a revived center for organ trans-plantation at Yale.

Dr. fiükrü Emre, who gives those patients waiting for a new liverhope with the surgeries that he performs, is well known by theTurkish people and in the past 20 years. He has given over fifty

Turkish patients new livers. Each surgery has its own very differ-ent story, says Dr. Emre, and he goes on to say, “Each patient is adifferent case, and each surgery is a new beginning. Each patienthas a very specific situation. The pre-operational and post-opera-tional period is as important as the surgery itself, a fastidiouspreparation, skill, knowledge and follow-up.”

Each surgery he has performed has a different place in his heart.There is one in particular that is a bit more special for him: For aTurkish doctor to be able to transplant a liver from one Turkishpatient to another Turkish patient while in the U.S. is somethingthat does not take place too often. A very close friend of a Turkishpatient awaiting a liver suffered from an aneurysm, and upon hisbeing declared brain dead, the family decided to donate hisorgans. Since the family knew the patient awaiting a liver veryclosely, they decide to donate the liver to him. Dr. Emre speaks ofthis surgery that has carved a place in his memories “For me it wasan unforgettable surgery. It was a Turkish doctor taking a liverfrom a Turkish man to transplant into another Turkish man in theU.S.”

A FORERUNNER IN HIS FIELD Dr. fiükrü Emre is shown as one of the most successful doctors inhis field and he says that his goals for the future are to continue inthis vein. He is the medical editor of many medical journals and hecontinues to publish. Dr. Emre also gets invited to attend confer-ences and to give lectures about his own experiences from manydifferent countries. Dr. Emre is very modest about all of his suc-cesses and his prizes, saying that all of the prizes he has receivedmakes him proud and that it serves to motivate him, and then hegoes on to say that motivation is very important for a surgeon:“The first one is academic motivation. The second one is the suc-cessful results from the work on patients and the good feelingsand the spiritual reward you get from this. The third motivation isthe material one. When you can get all three of these motivationstogether then I don’t think there is anything left that you couldwant.” !

THREE LIVES WITH ONE LIVER There is one transplant surgery in particular that has caused NewYork Magazine to choose Dr. Emre, who has not only attracted theattention of the medical world, but also its praise, as one of thetop ten best doctors of 2007. Dr. Emre describes this surgery,which is his own method, called Domino, where he performs livertransplants into three patients at the same time: “In FAP patientseven though their livers are structurally normal they have enzymesthat are missing and they create too much protein and this buildup of protein can lead to nerve damage. This process usually takesabout thirty years and there is nothing wrong with the patientusing this liver for those thirty years. You can transplant this liverthat you take from a patient like this into another patient. The fam-ily of a young girl who had died in a car accident donated herorgans and since her liver was big enough, we put half of it in apatient with FAP and the other half we placed into a 5-year-oldpatient who had liver failure. Then we took the liver of the FAPpatient and transplanted it into a 67-year-old patient who neededa new liver. We performed these transplant surgeries at the sametime in three different operating rooms.”


TOA 34-35 3/19/09 4:47 PM Page 3

AL‹ ‹NANÇ SEÇK‹N

Dr. Seçkin over the

past twelve years has

helped thousands of

patients get rid of

their pain.

he came to the United States in 1998 for researchpurposes and then found himself at the Mayo Clinic.After realizing the depths of the role that pain wasplaying in people’s lives, Dr. Ali Inanc Seckin decidedto put into practice the results of all of his researchof the past four years and he started an intense peri-od as a resident at the University of New Jersey Me-dical School. Dr. Ali Inanc Seckin then moved on toColumbia University and started to work in pain ma-


Gets R›d of Pa›n Gets R›d of Pa›n

AAccording toccording toan old belief,an old belief,

during the time thatduring the time thatGod was creating theGod was creating theworld, it was thought thatworld, it was thought thatpeople would only live 20 topeople would only live 20 to30 years and then a dinosaur30 years and then a dinosaurwould come along and devourwould come along and devourthem so they would be able to lithem so they would be able to li--ve their whole lives without feelingve their whole lives without feelingany pain. Even though pain is one ofany pain. Even though pain is one ofthe most common and important healththe most common and important healthproblems, and is usually a messenger of aproblems, and is usually a messenger of amore serious underlying health problem, itmore serious underlying health problem, ithas not been taken seriously for ages. Hohas not been taken seriously for ages. Ho--wever, in the 21st century, pain managewever, in the 21st century, pain manage--ment is now accepted as a branch onment is now accepted as a branch on--to itself, and in most countries, withto itself, and in most countries, withthe United States leading the way,the United States leading the way,patients are treated for their pain bypatients are treated for their pain byexperts in this field. Dr. Ali Inanc Seckin,experts in this field. Dr. Ali Inanc Seckin,upon noticing the negative effects that painupon noticing the negative effects that painhad on people’s lives, decided to dedicate hishad on people’s lives, decided to dedicate hiscareer to working in this field, and over the pastcareer to working in this field, and over the pasttwelve years has helped thousands of patients gettwelve years has helped thousands of patients getrid of their pain.rid of their pain.

CHALLANGE PAINCHALLANGE PAINDr. Ali Inanc Seckin, who completed his studiesDr. Ali Inanc Seckin, who completed his studiesat Cerrahpasa Medical School in 1996, workedat Cerrahpasa Medical School in 1996, workedas a general practitioner for one year. Afteras a general practitioner for one year. Aftercompleting his specialization in anesthesiocompleting his specialization in anesthesio--logy at Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital,logy at Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital,

By Melda Akansel

TOA 36-39 3/19/09 5:02 PM Page 2

nagement therapy, and today he is working as an anesthesiologist atHackensack University Medical School. Dr. Seckin also continues towork on his research in the area of pain management.

I AM A PAIN DOCTORDr. Ali Inanc Seckin, who identifies himself as a “pain doctor,” says“Pain is the oldest of all illnesses, yet it has taken thousands of ye-ars for us to discover it,” and points out the importance of pain in pe-ople’s lives and how the medical community’s attitudes towards pa-in has been changing. It is true that even with cancer patients, theright kind of pain management allows them to continue to live theirlives as normally as they can. “It used to be that cancer patients we-re riddled with pain and were waiting to die. Now they can live theirdaily lives as they receive their chemotherapy treatments. The fee-ling of pain can be gotten rid of either by the use of medicines or bysurgical methods”. Dr. Seckin points out how important these diffe-rent therapies are and how they affect people’s lives.

HE HAS A 98 YEAR OLD PATIENTBesides cancer patients, Dr. Seckin treats patients from all countries,ages and pain groups, including those with back, neck, disc and nerveproblems. The majority of his patients are between the ages of 40 and95. His oldest patient to date has been 98 years old, and the eldest pa-tient he has operated on was 94 years old. Another patient of his cameto him at the age of 75 after a surfing accident, another 80-year-old pa-tient came to him with an injured back from playing racquetball. “Aspeople’s lives get longer and longer the bone structure cannot handlethe wear and tear and certain degenerations occur. Eventually there isnerve damage, which causes pain. Keeping people active prolongstheir lives and slows down the aging process. The grandmothers ofyesterday do not exist anymore. Instead of saying you need to staystill, you need to sit in one place, you now have to get them to stay ac-tive. For people in their 80-90’s, it is very satisfying when they can co-ok for themselves or clean their own houses or at least take part in the-se activities.” This is how Dr. Seckin motivates his patients. Dr. Seckinpoints out that they also try to work on their patient’s psychologicalwell being as they treat their pain and he says, “getting rid of a pati-ent’s pain is almost a divine experience”.

THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEMDr. Seckin points out that he has only a small group of Turkish pati-ents and that this is due to the fact that most Turkish people do nothave private health insurance and also due to them not knowing theAmerican health care system. “A person who is born and has grownup here is already in the system and at the smallest amount of painthey run to their doctor. However, Turkish people seem to be scaredof even entering the system. They think healthcare is too expensive,and they worry about how they would be able to afford it if they ne-ed to have surgery. They therefore fear any sign of pain and they wa-it for it to pass. Then when pain becomes a much larger signal, it isusually at a phase that is a little too late,” he says as he explains Tur-kish patients’ approach to pain. According to Dr. Seckin, anotherproblem that Turkish patients face is the problem with language. Thepatient who does not speak enough English also fears going to adoctor or to the hospital. In reality not speaking the language or anyother problems are not important factors in the way of getting treat-ment because hospitals must provide a translator to the patient. Tur-kish patients come mainly with upper and lower back and neck pain.Especially blue-collar workers who are engaged in physical labor co-

me to him with back and muscular pain. Mostly Turkish patients co-me to Dr. Ali Seckin upon recommendations or referral. Some get hisname from the paper; some from their health insurance companyand some find him through the Internet. Besides those patients thatTurkish general practitioners refer to him, there are also those Tur-kish patients that he meets in the hospital.

BEING A DOCTOR IN TWO COUNTRIES According to Dr. Seckin, there are a few differences between being adoctor in Turkey and being a doctor in the United States. Dr. Ali Sec-kin, who has been a practicing doctor in the United States for the pasttwelve years, says that each country has its own healthcare system.“When you know the rules of both countries, then you can be more ofa help to your patient. Here there is more of a financial possibility.The patients, the insurance companies and of course the governmenthave more money. Here there are not that many limits on the financi-al aspects. Especially in New York, whether the patient has money ornot the emergency rooms must provide service regardless. A doctormust see and treat the patient within the first four hours,” says Dr. AliSeckin when speaking of the possibilities within the American healthcare system. Just as in other hospitals, Hackensack University Medi-cal Center also has a clinic for low-income patients and once a monthDr. Ali Seckin treats patients there. He also points out that differentcountries and different cultures have different approaches to painmanagement; he goes on to point out: “Advances in technology andthe changes in living conditions bring along with them new habitsand illnesses. Illnesses here are also different; when you work withpatients from different cultures and different groups then you seethat each population has a differing view on pain. Here there is notthe same kind of approach to pain that there is in Turkey. For examp-le someone from the Middle East may see pain as some sort of pu-nishment while someone from Scandinavia or Ireland may look for anapproach that minimizes pain. Hispanics approach pain in a muchmore dramatic fashion and they define it much more visually.”

In the near future Dr. Ali Inanc Seckin plans to keep on with his rese-arch and to advance in his field of choice. Dr. Seckin, who loves hisprofession, tries to erase his patients’ pain every single day. He alsoexercises, swims, and rides a bicycle in order to keep pain and stressaway, just as he recommends to his own patients. Dr. Seckin, who isalso interested in music, plays the trumpet and the Ney. The biggestpain buster in Dr. Seckin’s life is his twins.!


TOA 36-39 3/19/09 5:02 PM Page 3

TOA 36-39 3/19/09 5:02 PM Page 4

TOA 36-39 3/19/09 5:02 PM Page 5

HANDE OZDINLER

ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, was identifiedfor the first time in 1874. A progressive disease ofthe nervous system, ALS causes paralysis by im-

pacting motor nerves. World-reknowned scientist Ste-ven Hawking is the most famous person living with thisdisease. He, along with thousands of others, still waitsfor a cure.Hande Ozdinler, PhD., who is conducting research onALS, has been given the responsibility to form the ASLresearch center at Chicago’s Northweastern University.At the laboratory that she will establish, Ozdinler willconcentrate on dying nerve cells. She will investigatewhy and through what mechanisms the cells die andwhich factors could enable them to return to life.

In addition to numerous Turkish doctors who activelywork in patient care in USA, there are also those who ta-ke part in the research efforts to discover the causes ofdiseases. Dr. Ozdinler talked about the new instituteand their work with TURKOFAMERICA:

CCoouulldd yyoouu tteellll uuss aa lliittttllee bbiitt aabboouutt yyoouurrsseellff??I was born in Istanbul in 1971. From Bosphorus Univer-sity, I received my bachelor’s degree in Molecular Bio-logy and Genet›cs, and also my master’s degree in Che-mical Engineering, through a partner project of the samedepartment of the University. Later on, I came to theUSA to work on my doctorate. I received my PhD degre-es in the subjects of Cell Biology, Anatomy, and NerveSciences from Lousiana State University’s Health Scien-ces Center. Afterwards, I came to Harvard Medical Scho-ol’s Massacuhusetts General Hosptial Neurosurgery de-partment as a researcher. At the end of my first year he-re, I was given an award, which is presented only to twopeople, and I became more independent and moved upto the position of facutly member. At last, I was giventhe responsibility to form the Amyotrophic Lateral Scle-

Hande Ozdinler, PhD.,

who is conducting

research on ALS, has

been given the

responsibility to form

the ASL research

center at Chicago’s

Northweastern

University.

rosis (ALS) research center at Northwestern University,and subsequently I decided to leave Harvard Universityand transfer to Northwestern Universtiy.

AArree yyoouu ccoonndduuccttiinngg rreesseeaarrcchh pprroojjeeccttss oonn ddiisseeaasseess ooff tthheebbrraaiinn?? AAtt wwhhaatt ssttaaggee iiss yyoouurr wwoorrkk rriigghhtt nnooww??My field of interest is neuro-degenerative diseases. I amespecially focused on ALS. I am not one of the doctorsseeing patients, I am one of the doctors seeking to findthe causes of diseases. Our work is progressing rapidly.I believe that I will bring momentum to the studies, es-pecially in this newly formed center.

WWhhaatt eexxaaccttllyy iiss tthhee AALLSS rreesseeaarrcchh cceenntteerr yyoouu ffoorrmmeedd??WWhhaatt ssoorrtt ooff ssttaaggeess ddiidd iitt ggoo tthhrroouugghh bbeeffoorree bbeeiinngg eessttaabb--lliisshheedd?? WWhhaatt iiss iittss bbuuddggeett?? WWhhaatt iiss iittss ppllaann ooff aaccttiioonnaanndd ggooaallss?? HHooww mmaannyy ppeeooppllee wwiillll wwoorrkk aatt tthhee cceenntteerr?? As you know, ALS is a disease with no cure and there arenumerous institutions that exist to find the cause of it. Inthe laboratory that I will be forming at Northwestern Uni-versity, we will be focusing on the nerve cells that die be-cause of the disease. The cause and the mechanism thro-ugh which they die, and through which factors they couldbe brought back to life will be investigated. The center isstill at the stage of formation and, at first, its work will bestarted by four people. I hope the number of our researc-hers and our budget will increase in tandem with our dis-coveries. In the early stages, the center will receive a gre-at portion of its financial support from the Les Turner ALSAssociation, which is an organization devoted to findingthe cure for this disease. I am sure that we will find sup-port from other sources in the following years.

WWhhaatt wwoouulldd nneeeedd ttoo bbee ddoonnee ffoorr yyoouurr wwoorrkk ttoo mmaakkee iitt ttootthhee cclliinniiccaall ssttaaggee??One of the advantages of discoveries on the cellular le-vel is that they give quick results; a disadvantage is the


She Works to F›nd a Solut›on for a D›sease W›th No Cure

Ali Ç›nar [email protected]

TOA 40-41 3/19/09 5:07 PM Page 2

necessaity for the obtained result to be tested in other systems. Therewill be work in animal models in due course. In addition to this, one ofworld’s biggest ALS banks is in Northwestern and it will be possible to be-nefit from that.

MMeeddiiccaall rreesseeaarrcchh iinn tthhee UUSSAA aarree ccaarrrriieedd oouutt oonn ttoopp lleevveellss aanndd ffiinnaanncciiaall ssuupp--ppoorrtt iiss pprroovviiddeedd.. WWhhaatt aarree tthhee mmaaiinn rreessoouurrcceess ffoorr tthhiiss ttyyppeess ooff rreesseeaarrcchh??In the USA, somewhat differently than in Turkey, the private sector givesa lot of support for scientific research. In Turkey, as far as I know, supportis generally state-based. There are of course exceptions to this, forexample, the ALS research center that the Kirac Foundation establishedunder the aegis of Bosphorus University. However, these types of sup-port are both very small in number and the financial support provided islimited in comparison to the USA. Yet the private sector’s investment inscientific research is an inevitable obligation. I hope, for this reason, thatappealing packages would be developed in Turkey. To expect investmentin the sciences solely from the state is a big deficiency.. WWhhaatt iiss tthhee rreeaassoonn tthhaatt mmeeddiiccaall rreesseeaarrcchh iinn TTuurrkkeeyy iiss lliimmiitteedd??Actually, I don’t necessariyly believe that medical research in Turkey is li-mited. When the opportunities at hand are taken into consideration, Tur-key is not unsuccessful. What is important is to increase the level of in-vestment. Turkey, for example, is one of the leading countries in terms ofeye health and operations, and, furthermore, we have started health tou-rism in this area. This is a great achievement. My hope is for us to be ab-le to show same level of success in neuro-degenerative diseases as well.

AArree tthheerree ootthheerr TTuurrkkiisshh ddooccttoorrss iinn tthhee cceenntteerr yyoouu wwoorrkk aatt?? AArree eexxcchhaannggeepprrooggrraammss rreeccoommmmeennddeedd??As of now, we don’t, but I wish this for the future. Ultimately, if we don’tshare our knowledge, it would be a burden for us. Just as we share everytechnological discovery and every accumulation of knowledge with thedoctors of other countries, we need to share them with Turkish doctorsimmediately.

YYoouu wweenntt ttoo NNoorrtthhwweesstteerrnn UUnniivveerrssiittyy aafftteerr HHaarrvvaarrdd.. WWhhaatt aarree tthhee ddiiffffee--rreenncceess ooff tthhee mmooddee ooff wwoorrkk??Harvard is really an excellent university. I had the joy and pleasure of wor-king there for six years. It’s such an atmosphere that your brain is alwaysworking. There are always dialogues, panels, debates, and conferences.You constantly ask questions and try to find answers to those questions. Idon’t know Northwestern that much but after a few visits there I understo-od that if you take Harvard and place it in Chicago, it would be Northwes-tern University. Harvard University is an academically satisfied university,and Northwestern is a rapidly growing and developing, dynamic and activeuniversity, and it is among the top ten universities of the world. Its dyna-mics attracted me. I’ve seen there the dynamics that I haven’t seen at Har-vard and I decided to take part in that excitement of growth.

AAnnyy aaddvviiccee ttoo mmeeddiiccaall ssttuuddeennttss aanndd nneeww ggrraadduuaatteess wwhhoo wwaanntt ttoo ttaakkee oonntthhee ooccccuuppaattiioonn ooff aa ddooccttoorr iinn tthhee UUSSAA??In my opinion, they shouldn’t set themselves just to see patients; rather,they should keep a place in their minds and hearts for research. If possible,they should receive a scientific doctorate. There is a joke here which I like;they say, “Doctors that see patients cure one patient in one day. But doctorsthat investigate the causes of a disease don’t even cure one patient throug-hout their whole life. Yet one day comes and they are able to cure thousandsof people at once with their discoveries.” I think doctors in Turkey too mustraise themselves in accordance with these two methods of curing.

YYoouu hhoolldd aa ppoossiittiioonn aatt TTAASSSSAA.. CCaann yyoouu eexxppllaaiinn tthhaatt aa lliittttllee ffuurrtthheerr??The Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA) is anorganization established by Turkish scientists who live in America in or-der to build bridges in the fields of science between Turkey and America.I was first elected as the Health and Biomedical representative memberof the board. Later, I was elected as the committee chair. I say ‘I wish Icould’ve been more active.’ We all work voluntarily at TASSA. TASSA isgrowing rapidly; both its credibility and its participation and investmentlevels are increasing. I am so happy for the existence of an organizationsuch as TASSA. It proves to me that people can be beneficial to their co-untry even without living within the borders of their country. I think thisis a very important fact.

WHAT IS ALS?Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Di-sease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nervecells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the bra-in to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughoutthe body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALSeventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the abilityof the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With volun-tary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages ofthe disease may become totally paralyzed.!


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TOA 40-41 3/19/09 5:07 PM Page 3

DR. MEHMET TONER

By Maureen [email protected]

What this country

still does extremely

well is the high

tech stuff that is

multi-disciplinary

and complex.

There is integration

across disciplines.

Other countries

don't have the

flexibility and

the dynamism

that we have here.

In the crystalline and futuristic realm of cryobiologystands a man from Moda in Istanbul.

Considered one of the world's leading experts in thefield, Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., came to America 25years ago from the neighborhood of plane trees andtea gardens and the rigorous training of IstanbulTechnical University's mechanical engineeringdepartment.

Today he is Professor of Surgery (BiomedicalEngineering) at Massachusetts General Hospital,Harvard Medical School, and is the founding directorof the National Institutes of Health BioMEMSResource Center. BioMEMS stands for BiologicalMicro Electrical Mechanical Systems.

And though that all sounds very complex, cryobio-logy has very practical and necessary applications.Freezing tissue is central to being able to store andtransport organs, stem cells, skin, and even emb-ryos, he explains.

"The only reason Lance Armstrong was able to havechildren after his cancer is because he'd frozen hissperm," explains Dr. Toner.

HHooww ddiidd aa mmaann wwhhoo bbeeggaann iinn mmeecchhaanniiccaall eennggiinneeee--rriinngg eenndd uupp iinn mmeeddiicciinnee??"Towards the end of my studies in Istanbul I'dshown more interest in academic work, so I appliedto a few different programs and came to do my gra-duate studies." The universities to which he appliedincluded Harvard, Yale and MIT, all of which accep-ted him. He chose MIT after a Turkish professor atYale unselfishly championed the work going on atMIT instead of poaching him for Yale, thinking he'dbe a good fit and believing in its future. He took hisadvice.

And these new disciplines have a basis in traditionalengineering, he explains.

"I was a standard pure mechanical engineer, but wasinterested in plasma physics and hydrodynamics,thermal science - low temperature biology was avery natural extension.

"Living cells and tissues are almost becoming likedrugs now. Cells will be therapeutic."

Particularly if science is given the funding and theenvironment to help people, he says.

SCIENCE CAN LIFT THE COUNTRYAnd as he once stood on a precipice between conti-

nents before journeying to America, he sees anotherpath opening before him and all who care about thepromise of his area of research: He thinks the newAmerican President Barack Obama will be good forscience.

"It's been so bad under the last administration, itcan only go up," he points out.And he's particularly buoyed by the president's

choice for Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, theNobel Prize-winning physicist and director of theLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the Uni-versity of California.


Harvard's Ice Man

TOA 42-43 3/19/09 5:08 PM Page 2

"He's an outstanding scientist, a remarkable man," saysDr. Toner. "Energy will probably create a lot of possibilities for thiscountry."

He feels that the current recession is cyclical and that in the longrun, science can lift the country out of the economic doldrums.

"We have a lot bigger issues on our plate with the economy andwar and all of that but in the end what I feel is happening is the U.S.is going through various phases."

That the US retains any dominance in the world high tech sector isdue to another MIT professor, Dr. Toner explains.

"After World War II, MIT professor Dr. Vennavar Bush wrote 'End-less Frontiers.' And the point of the report was that in 1945 the go-vernment had to put money into research and development and theuniversities.

" Places like the NIH and America's graduate schools blossomedwhen the paper successfully inspired a commitment to the future,he explains.

"Many economists will say that 50 percent of the economy isfueled by this policy even today," says Toner.

Dr. Toner is very proud of the undergraduate education he receivedin Turkey. Its superiority is evidenced in how easy he found a placeat a top university like MIT.

"We'd learned a lot of it in our undergraduate work," he says.

REVIVE THE CLARION CALL OF ENDLESS FRONTIERSHowever, he notes that the United States is still the world leader ingraduate education and high tech innovation and he's happy to behere to add to his knowledge and apply what he learned as a youngman in Turkey.

"What this country still does extremely well is the high tech stuffthat is multi-disciplinary and complex. There is integration acrossdisciplines. Other countries don't have the flexibility and thedynamism that we have here. It's very important that we keepthis."

Unlike when Dr. Toner arrived, he notes that more than half of to-day's foreign doctoral students are returning to their homelands.

"It's good but we are in effect creating our own competition," heobserves.

For this reason as well as the long term recovery of America, we ne-ed to revive the clarion call of "Endless Frontiers," he says.

"Science creates jobs, improves life, grows our economy. Some ofthe effects are long-term benefits and when people are worriedabout how they're going to pay for dinner, they don't have the lu-xury of thinking about this," he notes. But it is his prescription forAmerica, nonetheless.

Dr. Toner is humble about his place in the Turkish-AmericanDiaspora. Though he has opened his home to many other Turkscoming to Massachusetts area to work and study and taught curio-us Americans about his still-misunderstood homeland, he says"I wish I could do more.

"Our numbers are somewhat growing. They’re still too small tohave much impact and visibility, especially politically. But that isbeginning to change."!


TOA 42-43 3/19/09 5:08 PM Page 3

ÇA⁄ATAY ERAKIN

Dentist and Endodontist Ça¤atay Erak›n, originallyfrom Izmir, is now living and working in his cho-

sen profession in New York. Erak›n, who won thegreen card lottery, has performed root canal treat-ment on thousands of patients since 2001.

Dentist Ça¤atay Erak›n’s arrival story in the UnitedStates is different from that of most other Turkishdoctors. In 1992, after finishing his five-year educa-tional process at Ege University Dental School,Erak›n chose root canal treatment as a specializationand became an endodontist. After winning a greencard, his profession that had started in Izmir all of asudden found its way to the United States. Arrivingin New York in 1995, American educational systemrules and regulations meant that Dentist andEndodontist Ça¤atay Erak›n had to receive addition-al education and training. He studied dentistry forthree years at New York University and then he wenton to do two more years in his chosen branch of rootcanal treatment. In 2001 Ça¤atay Erak›n opened hisclinic in Manhattan and for the past eight years hehas treated thousands of patients’ pain with his rootcanal treatments.

ROOT CANAL THERAPY ON FAMOUS PEOPLEÇa¤atay Erak›n performs his root canal treatments athis clinic with one American and one Russianendodontist. Erak›n’s patients do not suffer fromnormal tooth and gum problems. As Erak›n explainshis practice, “Usually our patients do not come herewith regular problems. We accept patients who arereferred to us from other dentists and after we per-form root canal treatments then we send them backto their regular dentists.” On the other hand, whenpatients in pain approach them directly then Ça¤atayErak›n and his team perform root canal treatments ifcalled for and then they send their patient to anoth-er dentist for further treatment. After the root canaltreatment that Erak›n performs, the dentist withwhom the patient is continuing their treatment per-forms the fillings and crowns. After the root canaltreatment process the treatment period ends; there-

For the past

eight years

Ça¤atay Erak›n

treated thousands

of patients’ pain

with his root

canal

treatments.


By Melda Akansel

Erak›n:One Of New York’sMost Successful Endodont›sts

TOA 44-47 3/19/09 5:11 PM Page 2

fore, Erak›n’s patients are not long-term ongoing patients.

Due to the cosmopolitan make-up of New York, Ça¤atay Erak›n seespatients from all different countries and he also treats Turkishpatients. He points out that on average two Turkish patients come tohis office per week; “If we look at the make up of my patients we seethat usually we see two Turkish patients per week. Since the rootcanal treatment process takes about forty-five minutes, we are onlyable to see ten patients per day. When you look at the sum that waythen two Turkish patients per week is quite a percentage.” AmongÇa¤atay Erak›n’s famous patients are Georgian president MikhailSaakashvili and Yoko Ono, wife of John Lennon, a member of the leg-endary musical group The Beatles.

Ça¤atay Erak›n, who has studied both in Turkey and the UnitedStates, points out that the study of dentistry is different in bothcountries. He says that the study of dentistry is advanced in Turkeyand he compares the process of study this way: “The level of studyin Turkey is good. We received a good foundation during our studiesand we studied from great books. Education is free in Turkey but thestudents cannot access various resources. However, here you haveevery opportunity, for example when the student goes to the libraryhe can find DVD’s, videos, books and other resources that are neces-sary. In Turkey we studied everything from books but then it wasvery different when working on a patient. We had to use whatevermaterials that were on hand. Here, especially at NYU, whatever wesaw in the books or studied in the classroom, we were then able to

replicate exactly and this allowed us to be even more successful.”

Ça¤atay Erak›n finds it very positive that the number of Turkish doc-tors practicing in New York is growing every day. As a root canaltreatment specialist, he works with many Turkish dentists; they referpatients to each other. He is very happy to be working in co-opera-tion with Turkish dentists. Additionally, he goes to Turkish doctorsfor his own health problems.

Ça¤atay Erak›n, who loves his profession and has been working athis own clinic in New York for the past fourteen years, is very happywith his life here. For his plans for the future, he aims to advance inhis specialty and in his own words, he aims to “reach the top pointin his career.” “I want to be among the best in the field of endoden-tistry,” he says, and not liking to sing his own praises, he insteadgives an example of his success through the experience of one ofhis patients: “Another dentist had recommended me to a patientwho needed root canal treatment. However the patient wanted toget a few more opinions. When three other dentists he spoke toalso recommended me, he found his way to my clinic. The firstthing he said to me was, “You must be the most well knownendodontist in Manhattan’.”Ça¤atay Erak›n, who spends most of his time with his patients, hasdecorated the walls of his clinic with paintings by Tuncay Topcu. Thisart-loving dentist also enjoys classical music and opera. He nevermisses an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera nor a concert ofthe New York Philharmonic.!


Among Erak›n’s famous patients are Georgianpresident Mikhail Saakashvili and Yoko Ono, wife of John Lennon.

TOA 44-47 3/19/09 5:11 PM Page 3

TOA 44-47 3/19/09 5:11 PM Page 4

TOA 44-47 3/19/09 5:11 PM Page 5

DR. SEMRA ÇOfiKUNTUNA

After completing her psychology training at HacettepeUniversity, Semra Çoflkuntuna came to the United

States in 1976 to do her PhD. Çoflkuntuna started herdoctoral program in experimental psychology but thentook a hiatus to enter the professional field. Not findingwhat she was looking for, she then decided to changeher doctorate to one in clinical psychology because, asshe says, “I like working with people more.” After comp-leting her training, she opened her own clinic in Manhat-tan and has since been working as a clinical psycholo-gist for the past fifteen years.

Speaking of her general patient population, Çoflkuntunasays, “Usually people come to me because they havetrouble with life. They come looking for solutions to eit-her their personal or work problems.” According to Çofl-kuntuna, problems that have existed from before or thathave not been solved becomes a barrier after a certainage. In these situations people have difficulties in achie-ving what they want or in succeeding. They do not seetheir own potential or they feel that something is mis-sing in their lives. Couples and relationship problemsare also part of Çoflkuntuna’s practice. “I do not workwith families, but I do work with couples,” she says asshe underlines the importance of relationships betweentwo people. Semra Çoflkuntuna also provides therapyfor her own colleagues. “In this field we also need to un-derstand our own problems and our feelings. If I do notknow myself or if I can’t express my feelings then I can-not help anyone else. That is why we generally go to the-rapy as well.” As a psychologist, Semra Çoflkuntuna,who works in New York, says that she has patients fromall countries and that she works with every age groupexcept for children. The average age group of her pati-ents is between 22 and 50. Her youngest patient to da-te was 17 and her oldest was 82.

Semra Çoflkuntuna says that compared to other nati-onalities, she does not have that many Turkish patients.She explains this by saying that Turkish people gene-rally try to solve their problems themselves. Her Turkishpatients usually come to her with relationship problems.“Turkish patients usually call me because of relations-hip problems that they are having. They also come fre-quently after having their first child in their marriage, sa-ying that ‘their nerves are shot’.”

Semra Çoflkuntuna decided to come to the United Sta-tes to further her education and says that she has reac-hed most of her career goals in the past thirty-one yearsthat she has been living here. Çoflkuntuna had at firstthought that she would be returning to Turkey after gra-duating but then, after starting her practice, she saidthat with time leaving became a harder and harder deci-sion. Even though she has become used to the United

Psychologist

Semra Çoflkuntuna,

who came to the

United States to do

her PhD,

solves the problems

of individuals living

the tiring and

fast-paced life

in New York.

“The biggest problem

for people here is

loneliness,”

says Çoflkuntuna,

who specializes in

solving relationship

problems.

States and to living here she does say that she still doesnot feel that she completely belongs: “I do not feelmyself at home here one hundred percent but also eachtime I go back to Turkey I also do not feel that I comple-tely belong there either. However this feeling helps mewith my work. I am able to look at things from two diffe-rent points of view.” Being between two different cultu-res is an advantage for her. It helps her when she is wor-king with people from a different culture and she feelsthat she is able to understand them better. Çoflkuntunasays that people who come to her for therapy also feelmuch more comfortable due to this.

LONELINESS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM Semra Çoflkuntuna states that the biggest problem for aforeigner living in the United States is loneliness. Eventhough not knowing the language causes many prob-lems, she says the real problem is the difference in thecultural language. Çoflkuntuna says: “Knowing Englishdoes not always solve everything when it comes to com-municating. Even a person who is here studying Englishcan find this very difficult. It is very difficult for a personto think outside of their culture and therefore it is veryhard for them to understand another person’s behavior.For someone who has recently arrived it is very difficultto leave their surroundings and their lives, to then comehere and gain new habits and to interact with peoplefrom other cultures and it takes time to understand the-ir behaviors and all of this reflects on their relations-hips.”!


She Lays Relat›onsh›ps on The Table

By Melda Akansel

TOA 48-49 3/19/09 5:12 PM Page 2

TOA 48-49 3/19/09 5:12 PM Page 3

MEDICAL TOURISM

The urge to receive health services at lower cost hasaccelerated medical tourism rates in recent years.

Highly complicated and overpriced health plans in deve-loped Western countries cause thousands of patients toseek service abroad. The volume of the health tourismmarket has reached $20 billion in the U.S. This numberis expected to double by 2010.

Turkey is among the most preferred destinations for Bri-tish patients, according to Medical Tourism Survey2007, along with India and Hungary. Cheap and timelyaccess to quality health services offered in accredited fa-cilities attracts thousands of foreign patients to Turkey

Turkey is among the

most preferred

destinations for

British patients,

according to

Medical Tourism

Survey 2007,

along with

India and Hungary.

every year. Turkey's mild climate and easily accessibletourist attractions give the patients an opportunity to re-ceive health care and visit a foreign country while doingso. In other words a sick-leave in Turkey! Who would notenjoy such a hospital visit? Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism estimates500,000 foreign patients visit Turkey for medical careevery year. According to the Ministry’s website, cosme-tic and plastic surgery, dentistry, eye surgery, and infer-tility treatment are among most popular “tourist attrac-tions” for medical patients.

It is recently reported that eye surgeries are very popu-


Turkey’s Med›cal‘Tour›st Attract›ons’

By Duygu [email protected]

In Turkey’s central eastern province, Sivas’s Fish Spa has remained oneof the best kept secrets among domestic tourists for a long time. Turkish model Tu¤ba Özay at Sivas’s Fish Spa.

Cour

tesy

of A

ksam

New

spap

er, T

urke

y


lar among German citizens, especially because the cost of treatment inTurkey is in some cases one third of that in Germany. In July 2008 a totalof 1,500 patients came to Turkey from Germany, Austria and Switzerland,according to Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA). DPA estimates the cost of aEuropean’s visit for eye treatment to be 1500 Euros, which includes ac-commodation and travel costs. The cost of laser eye surgery by itself is amajor reason for Germans to have it done in Turkey. The operation costsbetween 4000 and 8000 Euros in European countries, whereas approxi-mately it runs about 600 Euros in Turkey.

Following are a few comparisons retrieved from the website Treatment Ab-road: a laminate veneer crown (ceramic) costs around £550 in the UK, whe-reas in Turkey the same costs around £150. Tooth whitening (upper and lo-wer jaws) costs £950 in the UK, and only £250 in Turkey, and root canal tre-atment (one canal) typically costs £100 in the UK, and just £25 in Turkey.

Some figures from the Ministry’s website indicate how costs are effecti-vely low in Turkey. In vitro fertilization treatment, which is a process bywhich egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside of the womb, costs 15-16thousand USD in the U.S., whereas it costs approximately 2,600 USD inTurkey. Moreover, you might be surprised how much research can be do-ne over the Internet. For example,e via a website called Visit and Care, yo-u can access detailed information about the hospitals, their bed and staffcapacities, how many and which fertility treatments they have carriedout, and pregnancy rates as well.

According to the ‘Health care in Turkey’ report prepared by the Turkish-US Business Council (TAIK) in 2008, the retail price for a heart bypass(that is for those without health insurance) in the US is 210,842 USD,11,000 USD in India and 13,000 USD in Thailand; whereas the same sur-gery costs 3,500 USD in Turkey. The great discrepancy between prices issignificant in transplants as well. According to the same report, the retailprice of a kidney transplant is estimated to be 100,000 USD in the U.S,while the cost of such an operation in Turkey is 35,000 USD.Simpler procedures such as knee replacement would cost approximately30,358 USD for a insured US citizen; the cost would be half of that amountif carried out in Turkey. Such striking difference is encouraging for the he-alth care sector, especially in the big cities of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.

DOCTOR FISH OF KANGAL, SIVASHowever patients do not always travel for purely medical reasons such assurgeries, replacements or fertility treatments. They also enjoy the hea-ling waters and springs, recently referred to as spas, in Turkey. According to the Turkish Health and Tourism Association, Turkey is hometo 1800 hot springs of which 100 are used for touristic purposes. 40,000beds are available in thermal resorts. Pamukkale, Denizli, Afyonkarahi-sar, Balikesir, and Kizilcahamam in Ankara are among the most popularthermal resorts.

In Turkey’s central eastern province, Sivas’s Fish Spa has remained oneof the best kept secrets among domestic tourists for a long time. Lately,London Times journalist Lousie Murray wrote about Sivas’s Fish Spa (Ba-likli Kaplica); she describes the Spa in this way: “not many places have ahot spa pool with hundreds of voracious fish. It's all part of a treatmentthat claims to heal psoriasis at this remote spa 5,000 feet high in the Cen-tral Anatolia region of Turkey.” (Balikli Kaplica Spa, Kangal, Sivas, Turkey,June 3, 2006, London Times)The healing waters of Sivas have a pH of about 7.2, are isothermal. andmaintain a temperature of about 35 °C throughout the year (Ozer, Akpi-nar, & Akcay, 1987). The thermal water is rich in calcium, magnesium, andselenium (1.3 ppm) and is suitable for bathing. According to Murray’s article, Sivas’s Fish Spa treatment has providedclear benefits to more than 70% of their patients and a mean remissiontime of over eight months, as stated Dr Martin Grassberger of the Medi-cal University of Vienna.

HOW TO ARRANGE A MEDICAL TRIP TO TURKEYThe Internet seems to be rich resource for those who want to arrange amedical trip to Turkey. Medical travel intermediaries such as MedRetreat,Medsolution, Wake Up to Turkey, TWARP.com, as well as medical centersAnatolia Care and CTG Healthcare, allow you to plan your trip, accommo-dation, and treatment in advance. Package programs and great deals arepart of the advantages offered by such companies.According to the MedRetreat website, cost of medical care in Turkey iscompetitive with the rates of South America and Southeast Asia. So if yo-u have already seen those places, why not pack your bags for Turkey thistime?!


Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism estimates500,000 foreign patients visit Turkey for medical

care every year.

Cour

tesy

of A

ksam

New

spap

er, T

urke

y


KEV‹N N‹KSARLI

Dr. Kevin Niksarli, who has been awarded an achieve-ment certificate given by the VISX STAR company to

ophthalmologists who use their laser technology to per-form the most eye surgeries, continues his professionalwork at the clinics he owns in New York and New Jersey.Dr. Kevin Niksarli came to the United States in 1986 topursue his medical training and now as one of NewYork’s most accomplished ophthalmologists, he is alight at the end of the tunnel for many patients.

Kevin Niksarli’s dreams of becoming an industrial engi-neer started at Istanbul’s German High School and con-tinued with his studies at Bogazici University. After twoyears there, he came to New York to attend ColumbiaUniversity to major in Computer Engineering. After gra-duation, Niksarli worked for three years in computersand then when he decided to become a doctor, he star-ted his medical training at Cornell University MedicalCenter. After four years of training Niksarli graduated in1993 and then, planning on specializing in ophthalmo-logy, he decided on the course of his career and profes-sional path. Dr. Kevin Niksarli completed his specializa-tion in ophthalmology in five years and became an ex-pert in the field of laser eye surgery. After his graduationin 1998 Niksarli opened his own clinic, NewSight LaserCenter, and to this day continues to perform laser visioncorrections and treats thousands of patients.

SAVING PEOPLE FROM EYEGLASSES For the past ten years Dr. Niksarli has been greeting hismany patients every day in Manhattan’s NewSight La-ser Center with a warm smile; he has become almost asavior to people who have complaints about their eye-sight or for those whose eyeglasses have become al-most a part of their bodies. The most important thingabout this surgical method, which does not use a scal-pel or other cutting instrument, is that everything froma to z is done with a laser. He describes the technicalpossibilities of laser vision corrections in the followingway. “We create what can be called a lid above the eyebefore the surgery; we used to use machines with a ra-zor, but now we perform those procedures with lasersas well.” Dr. Niksarli says that many patients come tothe clinic with trepidations but then after the laser sur-gery even their expressions change, that when theyare free from the eyeglasses or lenses they relax bothpsychologically and physically and that within a few

Dr. Kevin Niksarli

completed his

specialization in

ophthalmology in

five years and

became an expert

in the field of laser

eye surgery.


Dr Niksarl›Looks AfterYour Eyes

By Melda Akansel

TOA 54-55 3/19/09 5:20 PM Page 2

hours they can go back to their daily activities. In his own words: “Weperform this surgery to free them from their eyeglasses.” He also treatshypermetropia, astigmatism and myopia as well. “The most commoneyesight problem is myopia and it is also very common among the yo-unger population. This is why myopia surgeries lead the way. The casesof hypermetropia and astigmatism treated by laser surgery are also notfew. Hypermetropia usually becomes evident after the age of 40. Theupper age limit for these surgeries is 65,” he says as he explains theaverage age of his patients. Dr. Kevin Niksarli has stopped performingcataract surgeries in the past few years and only performs laser visioncorrections, while he refers his cataract patients to other colleagues.

TURKISH PATIENTS USUALLY HAVE MYOPIA At his clinic Dr. Kevin Niksarli frees over two thousand patients every ye-ar from their eyeglasses and ten percent of these patients are Turkish.Dr. Niksarli explains his Turkish patient population: “This number maylook small at first glance. But Turkish patients may also choose to go toTurkey to be treated. Some patients choose to go to Turkey because he-alth services are cheaper there. Usually they get treated when they gofor their vacations. Since costs are cheaper in Turkey, the cost of treat-ment can be as little as half of what it would be here. If you consider thisfactor and take into account the size of the Turkish population in NewYork then you see that this ten percent is not a number to undervalue.”Turkish patients reach NewSight Laser Center either through referralsor through advertisements.

Dr. Kevin Niksarli says that he decided to open his second clinic four ye-ars ago in New Jersey due to his heavy patient caseload. He spends oneday a week with his patients at the New Jersey clinic, but performs sur-geries only at the Manhattan clinic. In his clinic, which is completelyequipped with all of the latest technologies, Dr. Kevin Niksarli workswith one other ophthalmologist and he also opens the doors to his cli-nic to other ophthalmologists in New York who do not have operatingrooms. At Dr. Niksarli’s clinic there are three types of lasers for use onmyopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism and other ophthalmologistscan rent them as well.

Among the many awards and successes that Dr. Kevin Niksarli has won,he has also received the VISX STAR company’s achievement award forophthalmologists who perform the most eye surgeries using their lasertechnologies. In addition, the 2004-2005 and 2006 best ophthalmolo-gist in the United States awards are among his many achievements. Dr.Kevin Niksarli has reached most of his career aspirations in the twentyyears that he has been in the United States and he sums up his futureaspirations as “continuing with his surgical successes.”!


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Building Your Relationship for a Lifetime Marriage, Relationship & Individual CounselingLicensed Marriage and Family Counselor

445 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10022Tel: 914 548 8645Email: [email protected]

TOA 54-55 3/19/09 5:20 PM Page 3

DR. UTKU OZAN

Dentistry Today, the leading magazine of dentalhealth in the U.S., every year publishes the list of

the top 100 dentists who educate dentists with semi-nars throughout the country. Dr. Utku Ozan, who firstentered the list in 78th place in 2005, took 8th place inthe 2008 list. The list of the top 100 dentists, which was

Dr. Ozan educated

2100 dentists in 86

seminars in 2008.

Dr. Ozan visited

19 countries and

his 2009 schedule

includes seminars

in 14 different

countries.

published under the title “Top Clinicians in ContinuingEducation” in the December 2008 edition of the maga-zine, was selected from a field of nearly 5,000 dentists.Dr. Ozan is the only Turk in the list, which is createdaccording to the forms filled out by the dentists thatparticipate in these education seminars.


One of the Top 100 Dent›sts:Dr. Utku Ozan

TOA 56-57 3/19/09 5:21 PM Page 2

Dentistry Today Magazine also publishes the list of top 100 dentistryproducts in their monthly editions. The last list included Ni-Ti Max, aproduct developed by Dr Ozan’s company, Maximum Dental, to beused in root canal treatment.

In addition to being a dentist, Dr. Ozan markets 12 products he devel-oped for better dentistry through his company Maximum Dental. Dr.Ozan holds the patent of 4 of these products himself. One of theseproducts, a medicine developed for dental fillings, is on the marketunder the “By Dr. Ozan” signature.

Headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey and having distributors in 17different countries, Maximum Dental operates with a team of 17 peo-ple.

Accredited by American Dental Association and Academy of GeneralDentistry, Dr. Ozan has the authorization to give seminars to dentistswho have to complete a certain number of continuing educationcredits each year. Dr. Ozan educated 2100 dentists in 86 seminars in2008. Dr. Ozan visited 19 countries and his 2009 schedule includesseminars in 14 different countries.

INTERACTIVE MEDIASoon, Dr. Ozan is planning to move his education seminars, whichincludes hands-on training on the latest methods and developments,to interactive media. Dr. Ozan, with the technology he set up in hisoffice in New Jersey, will make it possible for dentists to access hisseminars from their offices; therefore avoiding the hassle of travel-ing.

Having established his own company in September 2007, Dr. Ozanhas products in the market, which he developed after the difficulties

he faced throughout his years as a dentist, particularly in root canaltreatment. Dr. Ozan says, “There is tough competition for us outthere from century-old established large companies, both in the U.S.and all over the world, but we trust our products. Our target is toreach the 4th biggest share in the market.” Dentsply International,Sybron Dental Specialist & Bressler are the leading dental productscompanies in the market.

Dr. Ozan continues the marketing of his products by having adverto-rials and advertisements published in 13 different magazines toincrease the sales of his products online. He points out the fact thathe never advertises his own products in his education seminars. Headds, “Mostly, rival companies sponsor these seminars. I inform thedentists about the alternative products they can use and then theymake the decision.”

Utku Ozkan is a graduate of Gazi University School of Dentistry andhis father was a doctor. He is married and has one child. !

PRODUCTS OF MAXIMUM DENTAL - Canal Clenmax- Sonicmax- Endomax Smart- Rota- Apexmax IV- Curemax V- Xray Max- Guttamax- Cameramax- DG-16- K, H & C Hand Files- Irrigamax


Dr. Ozan educated 2100 dentistsin 86 seminars in 2008.

TOA 56-57 3/19/09 5:21 PM Page 3

THE DOCTORS’ BALL

In 1950’s and 1960’s, many doctors and engineerscame to the USA from Turkey, creating a new

trend, among the educated, of moving to the conti-nent. During the years after WWII, economic andmilitary relations between the USA and Turkey pla-yed an important role in the arrival of 4,000 Turkishengineers and doctors to this country.

Prior to this trend of migration of doctors and engi-neers, between the years of 1820 and 1950, nearly360,000 people migrated to the USA from the Otto-man Empire and the Republic of Turkey. About45,000 to 65,000 of this group consisted of Muslimsand Turks.

The doctors and engineers that came during the se-cond wave of migration, which followed the earliermigration that started during the last years of theOttoman Empire, began to assemble in the USAthrough associations.

The “Doctors’ Ball,” which took place for the first ti-me in 1968 in New York, is a traditional event thatthe doctors have been trying to continue ever since.Because the Turkish population during the 1970’swas small, this ball, which was organized every ye-ar in March, used to carry a special meaning forTurks, since they could get together, even if it wasonly once a year, and ease their longing for home.As years passed by, it lost its initial popularity.

IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT Turgay Kadioglu, a Turkish businessman who atten-ded the ball at the end of the ‘70’s with his family,describes it as an event that was awaited impati-ently throughout the year and as one of the largestTurkish organizations in New York, then. “Peoplewould come to the ball all dolled up and it used tobe very crowded. There would not be a special gu-est artist from Turkey but, rather, local artists wouldentertain,” says Kadioglu. Even the name of the ar-tist who took the stage during those years is reme-bered by Kadioglu: Tarik Bulut.

The “Doctors’ Ball,”

which took place for

the first time in 1968

in New York, is a tra-

ditional event that

the doctors have

been trying to contin-

ue ever since.

Mihri Cakir, who lives in California, mentions howthe ball she went in 1971 is still fresh in her memory.“The young adults would come to the ball with the-ir families. In a way, they would be introduced tothe community. People would dress quite elegantlyand nicely and the ball was given great importan-ce,” she says.

When the doctors who assembled under the organi-zation Turkish American Medical Associations fellshort of taking advantage of technological advance-ments, the bond between them also broke quickly.The current president of the organization is Ali Ser-dar Karakurum, who previously served as presidenttwice. In addition to Karakurum, the other officersare Tolga Kapusuz, Ferda Hatipoglu, and Esra Hati-poglu, who make up the organization’s board.

One of Karakurum’s primary goals for his presi-dency, to which he was elected in May of last year,is to activate the organization’s website. A 1986graduate of Ankara University Medical School, Kara-kurum has sent invitations to a total of 1060 peoplefor the ball in March 2009. Expecting the partici-pants to be around 100 people, Karakurum says hewants to form a database of the doctors and updatetheir adresses. Karakurum has been the chair of thescience department of Nassau University MedicalCenter for three years and also has his own privatepractice.

Karakurum came to the USA despite the warnings ofhis uncle, who is also a doctor here. He points outthat as a result of the development in the healthsector and the private sector’s innovative approac-hes in Turkey, the number of doctors coming to theUSA to work has decreased over previous years. Dr.Karakurum added, "Turkey is doing very importantwork in developing the health sector. Many privatehospitals were opened, and the new generation ofdoctors in Turkey don't need to come to the U.S. forwork. Even most medical students prefer to go backto Turkey after completing their education."!


DoctorsHave BeenMeet›ng at

Th›s Ball for41 Years

Ali Serdar Karakurum, (second from the left) President of TurkishAmerican Medical Association is with Kaya Boztepe, President of

Federation of Turkish American Association and Ayse Turan, MedicalAttache of Turkish Consulate General in New York.

Phot

o: R

idva

n Se

zer,

turk

ishn

y.co

m


OHAN KARATOPRAK

Dr. Ohan Karatoprak

has been

chosen as one

of the top 267

doctors in

New Jersey

out of a possible

25 thousand

for the past seven

years and has been

honored as an

honorary

professor at

New Jersey

University

Medical School.


DR. KARATOPRAKIMPROVES THEQUALITY OF LIFE

DR. KARATOPRAKIMPROVES THEQUALITY OF LIFE

By Melda Akansel

Dr. Karatoprak graduated fromIstanbul University Cerrahpasa

Medical School in 1977.

TOA 60-61 3/19/09 5:23 PM Page 2

Even though the secret of preventing aging or securing immortali-ty has not yet been discovered, prolonging a healthy life or, in

other words, improving the quality of life is no longer a mere fanta-sy. Anti-aging expert Dr. Ohan Karatoprak says that by correctlydirecting the genes in the human body it is possible to prolong thehealthy and high quality phase of life. Dr. Ohan Karatoprak, who isone of the pioneers in this field, conducts research into anti-agingand obesity and he also works as a general practitioner in his clinicin New Jersey.

Dr. Ohan Karatoprak graduated from Istanbul University CerrahpasaMedical School in 1977 and then in 1979 he came to the United Statesto do his surgical specialization. Karatoprak decided on general prac-tice and after three years of his specialization training he opened hisown clinic in 1986 in New Jersey. The interest he had in this field ledhim to do research and to continue his education and training in thisfield. After Karatoprak completed another specialization in geriatrics,he took on the position of chief of the obesity clinic at Teaneck HolyName Hospital. Dr. Karatoprak, who was interested in the patientsthat came to this clinic to lose weight, started to do research on therole obesity played in aging and on anti-aging. Dr. Ohan Karatoprakhas been working on the subject of anti-aging for the past twenty twoyears, long before the recent interest that this subject has gained andhe has also had a book published on the subject: “Personal GeneticHealth: 21st Century Anti-aging Breakthrough”.

According to Dr. Ohan Karatoprak, who has been working for manyyears on the subject of anti-aging, premature aging and obesity, thereis a very close tie between obesity and aging. “Obesity is an event thathas to do with the body producing too much insulin. Too much insulincauses inflammatory arteriosclerosis. This indicates that too muchinsulin causes premature aging.” Says Karatoprak, who provides per-sonalized treatment for his patients based on the results of their genet-ic and hormonal test results, “We determine what each patient needsbased on their genetic test results and then we determine a personal-ized treatment for that patient. There is a personal treatment for eachperson. We usually prepare a program that includes personalized vita-mins, proper nutrition and suitable exercise.”

Dr. Ohan Karatoprak, who continues to work both on his anti-agingresearch as well as his general practice, says that his patient group whocome in for anti-aging treatments are between the ages of 20 and 75.Karatoprak states that his Turkish patients usually hear about himthrough the Internet or from news reports about him in the media, andthat his Turkish patients make up about twenty percent of his patientload. Dr. Karatoprak also has patients who come to him directly fromTurkey. Just as he has patients who learn about his anti-aging treat-ments, he also has Turkish patients who come to him with tests thatthey have had done in Turkey to get a second opinion or a consultation.

Dr. Karatoprak says that other countries are following in small stepsthe advances that the United States and Germany are making in thefield of anti-aging, and that he is closely following Turkey’s view onthe subject. From time to time he speaks at conferences in Turkeyand in 2005 he was able to meet with his colleagues at the first Anti-Aging Congress. Dr. Karatoprak thinks that there is a long road thatTurkey has to go down on the subject but at the same time he findsit hopeful that there is an attempt in Istanbul to create an associationon anti-aging.

Dr. Ohan Karatoprak has been chosen as one of the top 267 doctorsin New Jersey out of a possible 25 thousand for the past seven yearsand has been honored as an honorary professor at New JerseyUniversity Medical School. Dr. Karatoprak, who is modest about hisachievements, points out that there are some differences betweenthe medical training in Turkey and the United States. For example,doctors in the United States have to pass a subject examination everyfew years, and that this leads them to renew their knowledge and stayfresh in their specializations. “They ask the same questions of thenew graduate and the doctor with twenty years of experience. This iswhy medicine here is more advanced,” he says, as he talks about howthe United States force doctors to renew themselves constantly.

Dr. Karatoprak, as an anti-aging expert who has done research onobesity, proper nutrition and aging and who has treated his patientsaccording to his findings, has also done genetic testing on himselfand his family. Dr. Karatoprak has prepared a specialized vitaminprogram for his family based on their test results and he places agreat importance on proper nutrition. He is very conscious when itcomes to nutrition and always keeps the nutritional value of eachfood in mind. For example, he tries to stay away from foods that pro-mote insulin release in the body such as potatoes, rice and pasta, orhe tries to limit them to a small amount at the end of a meal.Vegetables, fruit and salad are indispensable. For protein his choiceis chicken, but of course he does not touch the skin. Every day hemakes sure to eat hazelnuts and peanuts and he never forgets todrink lots of water. He is also very careful about the amount of calo-ries he takes in. Besides his healthy and correct nutritional programhe also exercises; twice a week he runs and plays tennis.!


TTaanneerr TTüürrkkeeflfl,, MMDD

Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP)and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Certified

IIMMMMIIGGRRAATTIIOONN EEXXAAMMSSIINNSSUURRAANNCCEE AACCCCEEPPTTEEDD

Dr. Taner Türkefl designatedby U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services.

314 Carr AvenueKeansburg, NJ 07734T: 732-495 5000C: 917-716 5853F: 732-495 5003

TOA 60-61 3/19/09 5:23 PM Page 3

JUL‹DE TOK ÇELEB‹

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi has been working as an ins-tructor in the Dermatological Department at Co-

lumbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospitalfor the past seventeen years treating thousands ofpatients for anything from cancer to eczema, fromwarts to moles. Dr. Celebi, who works primarily ontreating moles, also performs cosmetic proceduressuch as botox and laser treatments.

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi, who graduated in 1990 from Is-tanbul University’s Cerrahpasa Medical Center,completed her dermatological assistantship in 1992.Celebi then decided to come to the United States inorder to do clinical research and then conducted re-search for the next two years at Washington George-town University Medical School’s DermatologicalDepartment. Dr. Celebi next did her internship bet-ween the years 1994-95 at Florida University and af-terwards started her specialization training at Co-lumbia University. Dr. Julide Tok Celebi, who finishedher three-year specialization training in dermatology

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi,

who has a heavy

patient load,

can examine an

average of 250

patients per month.

in 1998, also has an advanced specialization in can-cer genetics.

WORKING ON THE GENETICS OF MELANOMA Dr. Julide Tok Celebi works primarily on skin molesand does research on melanoma, which is a type ofskin cancer. Dr. Celebi states that she does researchon the genetics of melanoma and she is also an ex-pert on the follow up on patients with a high risk ofdeveloping melanoma. Dr. Celebi does follow-upsand body scans for moles on patients’ bodies sincethey can change over time, grow in size or can chan-ge shape or color. Dr. Julide Tok Celebi also performscertain cosmetic procedures such as botox, fillingand laser treatments.

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi, who has a heavy patient load,can examine an average of 250 patients per month.Most patients come due to the moles on their bodi-es. Dr. Celebi’s patients are usually between 35-60years old and American.

Dr. Celebi’s Turkish patients make up about ten per-cent of her patient load. Turkish patients usually co-me to her with wart and eczema problems. Turkishpatients reach Dr. Celebi on referral from New YorkPresbyterian Hospital, through their insurance com-panies or through the Internet. At times Dr. Celebi al-so has patients who come directly from Turkey.

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi points out that there are somedifferences between the medical training in Turkeyand in the United States, and that one of these diffe-rences is that the process in the United States is mo-re formalistic: “Here after having a year of training ininternal medicine or surgery you then do a speciali-zation in dermatology for the next three years. Afterthat you take a national general exam. You graduatewith the score that you receive from that exam.” Dr.Celebi also states that one must repeat this examevery ten years to retain the “American Board of Der-matology” diploma. In Turkey each medical schoolhas their own exam and that is the way they gradua-te their assistants.

Dr. Julide Tok Celebi is very happy to be in New York,and to be living and working in this city. In the futu-re she plans to continue her research. Dr. Celebi ho-pes to sign off on medical discoveries by keepingmelanoma the objective. Dr. Celebi says that a stressful city like New York cantire a person out so she tries to get rid of her stressby working out. Dr. Celebi runs and exercises threetimes per week and also likes to go to the opera withher 8-year-old son.!


An Expert on the Genet›cs of Melanoma

By Melda Akansel

TOA 62-63 3/19/09 5:24 PM Page 2

ERGUN SENAY

Americans’ oral health has improved tremendously inrecent years. Over the past decade, tooth decay has

decreased by 15% in children, and just a quarter ofadults over 60 have lost all their teeth, down from one-third. Dentists attribute the improvement to suchadvances as fluoridation and better oral hygiene at anearly age. Ergun Senay, a Turkish dentist who has practiced inManhattan for over 20 years, points out that the impor-tance of dental treatment should be taught by familiesand schools at the same time. He says, “Dental treatment and tooth brushing are fun-damentally important in the U.S. You may see somepeople on the street that may not have a good appear-ance, but if you pay attention to their teeth, you will rec-ognize that the teeth look great. Families in the U.S. edu-cate their children about the importance of their teethfrom pre-school on up.” Dr. Ergun Senay graduated from the Department ofDenistry of Istanbul University in 1982. After graduation,without having any business experience, he came to theU.S. He continued his dentistry studies at New YorkUniversity. First, he started to work for a clinic in New York, then heopened his own clinic in 1988. At the clinic, three doctorswork with Dr. Senay and 30 percent of his patients areTurkish. Most people complain about paying very high bills fordental treatment. Dr. Senay explains that, “America ismore expensive than other countries for dental carebecause the cost of service is expensive, such as labor,lab costs, and technology, etc. We spend more time onteeth and we use different technologies. Advancementsin dental technology can offer patients modern solu-tions to traditional dental problems. It is expensive butthe quality, professional service, qualified technicians,and superior equipment for diagnosis and treatment areexcellent in the U.S. This makes the price higher than inother countries.” According to Dr. Senay, there are many differences

Most people

complain about

paying very

high bills for dental

treatment.

Dr. Ergun Senay

explains that.

between Turkey and the U.S. in terms of dentistry. Themost important thing is the economic difference. In theU.S., the quality of dental service is much higher thanany other country. Dr. Senay stressed that there are many good dentalservice places in Turkey but they can’t offer certain treat-ments because of economic reasons. “For example we use equipment for dental veneers. Thisequipment makes great plating in an hour but it is veryexpensive. It’s very normal that it causes a higher cost.Service, quality and the equipment that we use for treat-ment must be excellent because we want to make surethat patient will not have same problem with his or herteeth in the future,” Dr. Senay said.

INSURANCE FACTORThe American Dental Association recommends thatpatients visit their dentist and dental hygienist a mini-mum of twice a year to maintain proper dental hygiene. Most private companies offer medical insurance to covertheir employees’ medical care but sometimes, in orderto reduce medical benefits, they don’t cover dentaltreatment at all. If a person wants to have his own insur-ance for dental care, the insurance cost will be moreexpensive for that individual.A survey of 321 companies carried out by HSA found that65% of employers believed their staff would most valuedental insurance contributions as a benefit. Despite this,67% of companies said they would not consider imple-menting dental benefits as they perceive them to be tooexpensive.For instance, in 2001, 33 companies on FortuneMagazine’s list of America's very best employers werepaying 100% of their employees' health-care premiums.In 2006, this number dropped to only 14 employers. Dr. Ergun says new developing in dental treatmentincreases the costs of treatment and companies don’twant to pay employees’ health care bills because of thehigh costs. He adds, “In this way, patients have higherbills.” !

Why Is DentalWork SoExpens›ve?

Why Is DentalWork SoExpens›ve?


TOA 62-63 3/19/09 5:25 PM Page 3

TURKISH DOCTORS IN TRI-STATE

AACCUUPPUUNNCCTTUURREEMelik Dodanli – New York, NY

AADDOOLLEESSCCEENNTT MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICCSSGarbis Baydar – Englewood, NJFatih Ramazanoglu – Elmer, NJ

AANNEESSTTHHEESSIIOOLLOOGGYYLevon Capan – New York, NYHakan Attaroglu – Niskayuna, NY Gayle Atlas - New York, NYTolga Kapusuz, Mineola, NY

AANNEESSTTHHEESSIIOOLLOOGGYY,, PPAAIINN MMAANNAAGGEEMMEENNTTSemih Gungor – New York, NY

CCAARRDDIIOOLLOOGGYYGencer Filiz – Brooklyn, NYGuldeniz Doganay – Brooklyn, NY Gurkan F. Taviloglu – The Bronx, NYHasan Garan – New York, NY John M. Bozer – Buffalo, NY Mehmet C. Oz – New York, NY Nevber Cemaletin – New York, NY Ozgen Dogan – New York, NYHasan Atalay – Albany, NY

CCAARRDDIIOOLLOOGGYY,, IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEESinan Kadayifci – Bay Shore, NY

CCAARRDDIIOOLLOOGGYY--IINNTTEERRVVEENNTTIIOONNAALL//IINNVVAASSIIVVEEBurak Arkonac – Roslyn, NY

CCHHIILLDD NNEEUURROOLLOOGGYYCigdem Akman – New York, NY

CCHHIILLDD PPSSYYCCHHIIAATTRRYYAsli Saba Abaci – Rochester, NY

CCHHIIRROOPPRRAACCTTIICCNabil Kazan – Paterson, NJNorayr Ozbalik – South Plainfield, NJ

CCLLIINNIICCAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, RRHHEEUUMMAATTOOLLOOGGYYYusuf Yazici – New York, NY

CCLLIINNIICCAALL PPSSYYCCHHOOLLOOGGIISSTTBirsen Erses – New York, NY

CCRRIITTIICCAALL CCAARREE MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, IINNTTEERRNNAALLMMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, PPUULLMMOONNAARRYYSelim Arcasoy – New York, NY

DDEENNTTIISSTTRRYYArif Izmirligil – Port Jefferson STA, NYAyse Bilge Adsay – Newark, NJ Dan Pinar – Nyack, NYDeniz Yildirim – Depew, NYErgun Senay – New York, NY Gurbuz Edeer – Oakland, NJHamit Gokce – Brooklyn, NYKayhan Civelek – New York, NY Mustafa Seker – New York, NY P. Yavuz Erdogan – Paterson, NJRafi K. Saatciyan – New York, NY Sukriye B. Artam – New York, NY Ugur Artam – New York, NY Ali Gulum – Flushing, NYSadettin Sen – Fairlawn, NJSue Fusun Toy – Clifton, NJ

DDEERRMMAATTOOLLOOGGYY Julide Tok Celebi – New York, NY

DDIIAAGGNNOOSSTTIICC RRAADDIIOOLLOOGGYYNeda Yagan – New York, NY Sezen Z. Ozoktay – Jamaica, NYMelih H. Arici - New Haven, CT

EEPPIIDDEEMMIIOOLLOOGGYY OOFF MMIICCRROOBBIIAALL DDIISSEEAASSEESSSerap Aksoy – New Haven, CT

FFAAMMIILLYY MMEEDDIICCIINNEEMuhammad Azam – Dayton, NJ Ismail Ozcan – Lake Ronkonkoma, NYMurat Acemoglu – Cohoes, NY Ohan Karatoprak – Fort Lee, NJ

GGAASSTTRROOEENNTTEERROOLLOOGGYYHulya Levendoglu – Brooklyn, NY Safak Reka – Brooklyn, NY

GGEENNEERRAALL AANNDD CCOOSSMMEETTIICC DDEENNTTIISSTTRRYYArmand Karakash – Forest Hills, NY

GGEENNEERRAALL DDEENNTTIISSTTRRYYBill Akpinar – Little Neck, NY Yavuz Erdogan – Paterson, NJ

GGEENNEERRAALL PPRRAACCTTIICCEEHuseyin E. Tuncel – Brooklyn, NYTaner Turkes – (314 Carr Avenue Keansburg, NJ 07734 – Tel: +1 (732) 495 5000)

GGEENNEERRAALL SSUURRGGEERRYY Gokhan Ozuner – Suffern, NY Kazim Doganay – Bronx, NYUmur Atabek- Camden, NJ

HHEEMMAATTOOLLOOGGYY,, IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEEOlcay Batuman – Brooklyn, NY

HHEEMMAATTOOLLOOGGYY,, PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICC OONNCCOOLLOOGGYYMehmet F. Ozkaynak- Valhalla, NY

IINNFFEECCTTIIOOUUSS DDIISSEEAASSEE,,IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEENigahus Karabulut – Trenton, NJ

IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEEAyturk E. Aydin – Wayne, NJ Birsen Yuzak – Garden City, NJ Deniz Mehmet Pirincci – Le Roy, NY Dimyan Balikcioglu – Bronx, NY Eli S. Djebiyan – Englewood, NJEnver Akalin – New York, NY Erhan Kucuk – Wayne, NJEsenbike Bek – Smithtown, NYIstiklal Arikan – Hamilton, NJMehmet Cavusoglu – Douglaston, NYNejat Caginalp – Douglaston, NYNermi Onat – Clifton, NJ Tivana L. Bain – Brooklyn, NYYilmaz Aldemir – Northport, NYYusuf Miraloglu – Rochester, NY Dr. Ihsan Mustafa Uygur – Dover, NJErol Fikrig - New Haven, CTAli Erol - Wethersfield, CT Tulin Koparan - Stamford, CT

IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, GGAASSTTRROOEENNTTEERROOLLOOGGYYAbdo Balikcioglu – Brooklyn, NY Ali Serdar Karakurum – Port Jefferson, NYAyse Aytaman – Brooklyn, NY

IINNTTEERRNNAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,, PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICCSSVedat Obuz – (Lotus Clinic, 2605 Route130 S Cinnaminson NJ 08077 – Tel: +1 (856) 829 5466) Aret Kahyaoglu – Hackensack, NJ

IINNTTEERRVVEENNTTIIOONNAALL CCAARRDDIIOOLLOOGGYYErdal Cavusoglu – Brooklyn, NY

MMAATTEERRNNAALL AANNDD FFEETTAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEE,,OOBBSSTTEETTRRIICCSS && GGYYNNEECCOOLLOOGGYYTulin Ozcan – Rochester, NY

NNEEOONNAATTOOLLOOGGYY//PPEERRIINNAATTAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEEMeltem Olgun – New Haven, CT

NNEEPPHHRROOLLOOGGYY ((KKIIDDNNEEYYSS))Aydin M. Olgun – Huntington Station, NY

NNEEUURROOLLOOGGYYMoris J. Danon – New York, NY Tamer Toklucu – Amityville, NY

NNEEUURROOSSCCIIEENNCCEESS && EENNDDOOVVAASSCCUULLAARR //CCEERREEBBRROOVVAASSCCUULLAARR SSUURRGGEERRYYErol Veznedaroglu – (Capital HealthSystem, 750 Brunswick Avenue Trenton,NJ 08638 - 877-247-3443)

NNEEUURROOSSUURRGGEEOONNZEKI UYGUR – 36 EAST 20th STREET NEWYORK, NY 10003 – Tel: +1 212 387 0600

NNEEUURROOVVAASSCCUULLAARR SSUURRGGEERRYYMurat Gunel – New Haven, CT

OOBBSSTTEETTRRIICCSS && GGYYNNEECCOOLLOOGGYY,, RREEPPRROODDUUCCTTIIVVEE EENNDDOOCCRRIINNOOLLOOGGYY &&IINNFFEERRTTIILLIITTYYAydin Arici – New Haven, CTEmre U. Seli – New Haven, CTHuseyin Copur – Hackensack, NJKutluk Oktay – New York, NY Mert Bahtiyar – New Haven, CTOzgul Muneyyirci Delale – Elmhurst, NYSuleyman E. Dolen – Brooklyn, NY Pinar Kodaman - New Haven, CTCem Omay – Denville, NJAysegul Ozbek - Middletown, CT

OOPPHHTTHHAALLMMOOLLOOGGYYAhmet Degirmen – Elizabeth, NJIdil Bilgin – New York, NY Kevin Niksarli – New York, NY

OORRTTHHOODDOONNTTIISSTTMehmet Dikengil – Elizabeth, NJ

PPAAIINN CCAARREEAli Inanc Seckin – Hackensack, NJ

PPAAIINN MMAANNAAGGEEMMEENNTTNilufer A. Guleyupoglu – New York, NY

PPAATTHHOOLLOOGGYYCavit Oguzhan – Far Rockaway, NY Cuneyt Okay – Batavia, NY Sakir Humayun Gultekin – New York, NY Tarik Kumral – Newton, NJ

PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICC DDEENNTTIISSTTRRYYAbidin Hakan Tuncer – Rochester, NY

PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICCEENNDDOOCCRRIINNOOLL--OOGGYY Falka Ulcay Abaci– Brooklyn, NYLevon Agdere –Brooklyn, NY

PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICC MMEEDDII--CCIINNEEDeniz M. Burton –Clifton, NJYucel Atakent – East Meadow, NY

PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICC PPUULLMMOONNAARRYYUmit Emre – Brooklyn, NY

PPEEDDIIAATTRRIICCSSAynur Devli – Wayne, NJDeniz Cereb – Staten Island, NYMelih Sarigul – Clifton, NJ Kadri Aygen – Chester, NJ

PPHHYYSSIICCAALL MMEEDDIICCIINNEE && RREEHHAABBIILLIITTAATTIIOONNPinar Atakent – Brooklyn, NY

PPLLAASSTTIICC SSUURRGGEERRYYHakan Usal – Hackensack, NJNevin E. Gokalp – New York, NY

PPLLAASSTTIICC//RREECCOONNSSTTRRUUCCTTIIVVEE SSUURRGGEERRYY Hakan Kutlu – Morristown, NJ

PPSSYYCCHHIIAATTRRYYMustafa Ziyalan – New York, NY Pinar Ziyalan – New York, NY Rosalind Gul Hoffman – New York, NY Semra Coskuntuna – New York, NY Serafettin Tombuloglu – Rockville Centre, NYToksoz Byram Karasu – Bronx, NYHulya Erhan – New York, NY Ece Tek - New Haven, CT

PPSSYYCCHHIIAATTRRYY && NNEEUURROOLLOOGGYYCenk Tek-New Haven, CT

RRAADDIIOOLLOOGGYYNevin Halil Okay – Franklin Lakes, NJ

RRHHEEUUMMAATTOOLLOOGGYYDoruk Erkan – New York, NY

TTHHOORRAACCIICC SSUURRGGEERRYYErgin M. Arisan- Englewood, NJ

TTRRAANNSSPPLLAANNTT && IIMMMMUUNNOOLLOOGGYY Sukru H. Emre – New Haven, CT

UURROOLLOOGGYYCaner Z. Dinlenc – New York, NY Erdal Erturk – Rochester, NY Altan Kadri Ilkay, East Setauket, NY

* Doctors are listed in alphabetical orderby their specialties. The list can not becopied, or used without prior permissionof TURKOFAMERICA.


TURKISH DOCTORS IN NEW YORK, NEWJERSEY AND CONNECTICUT

TOA 64 3/19/09 5:25 PM Page 2

Volume 8 Issue 32 - Special Health Issue

Documents

Transcript of Volume 8 Issue 32 - Special Health Issue