Tahsin Oğuz Acartürk, MD
Where did you complete your education?
I graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine as a Medical Doctor. Although I won the Plastic Surgery exam in TUS, my biggest dream was to receive my specialization training in America and for this, I went to America the same year.
First, I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University on muscle stem cells, tissue engineering, and biomaterials (artificial/natural materials that replace living tissue). At that time, stem cells and tissue engineering, and their combination, regenerative medicine, were new concepts in plastic surgery. I think I am the first Turkish plastic surgeon in the world to have worked on this.
I entered the University of Pittsburgh Department of Plastic Surgery as a resident. I did general surgery for the first 3 years due to the integrated (mixed) training program in plastic surgery. During these 3 years, I received intensive and challenging training in trauma surgery, heart and thoracic (chest) surgery, abdominal surgery and vascular surgery. I later saw the benefits of this non-plastic surgery training. This training allowed me to perform difficult repairs in every area of the body and work comfortably. Doing vascular surgery also prepared the groundwork for me to become a microsurgeon later on. After this, my 3-year plastic surgery training began. I worked closely with nearly 30 plastic surgeons working in our department and received good training in a very wide range of areas. The Pittsburgh Department of Plastic Surgery was and still is among the top three respected clinics in America. (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140910005211/en/Doximity-Announces-2014-Residency-Program-Rankings)
As a foreign doctor in America, it was very difficult to enter residency back then, as it is now. It was even more difficult to enter surgical branches. Entering plastic surgery required a lot of work and great dedication. I am proud to have made my country’s name known as the first Turkish plastic surgeon to enter and receive training in an integrated plastic surgery program in America. I had the opportunity to perform surgeries with world-renowned plastic surgeons who frequently visited our department. During my plastic surgery years, I also worked as a postdoc fellow in the Bone Tissue Engineering Laboratory for 1 year. In the last year of my residency, I worked with stem cells obtained from fat, which is now very common. At that time, obtaining stem cells from fat was a newly emerging concept and the University of Pittsburgh was pioneering this. I think I am one of the first Turkish plastic surgeons to have worked with these fat stem cell technologies.
During my residency, I was interested in many subjects, but the area that interested me the most was microsurgery. Microsurgery is the most difficult area of plastic surgery. Here, a tissue is taken from the body with its vessels and transferred to another area. In order for the transplanted tissue to survive, the vessels of about 1 mm must be repaired under the microscope. In order for the surgeon to be successful, he must both develop himself technically at the highest level and be fully dedicated to this field.
Returning to Turkey after my education in the US
After my education in the US, I returned to Turkey and received my specialist equivalence from the Ministry of Health at Mersin University. Right after that, I did my military service as a reserve officer at the Ankara Gülhane Military Medical Academy. I worked with very valuable instructors there and gained experience, especially in burn treatment, war injuries and penis repair.
After my military service, I started working as a faculty member at Çukurova University, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and became an Associate Professor there.
During my years at Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, I trained many assistants and students. I performed many surgeries that had never been done in Adana. This was especially in the field of microsurgery and repair. In the field of microsurgery, I reduced the tissue loss rate from 50% to 3%, which is below the world average of 5%. I defined tissue transfers that had never been defined before and entered the international literature.
I received the "Young Plastic Surgeon" award from the European Society of Plastic Surgery and worked as a fellow in microsurgery, orthognathic surgery (jaw deformities) and ear repair at the University of Helsinki.
I received my sub-specialization in Oral, Facial and Maxillofacial Surgery from the Ministry of Health. I am one of the few plastic surgeons in Türkiye who is an expert in this field.
In 2011, I went to the United States as the Director of Head and Neck Repairs at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Plastic Surgery. These repairs are treatments that are related to defects (defects, openings) resulting from the removal of cancers in the head, neck, oral cavity and jaw region and mostly require microsurgery. These surgeries are much more difficult than microsurgery repairs in other parts of the body due to the severity of the patients' conditions and the 3-dimensional shape and functionality of the area. Teamwork involving many branches is mandatory. The average surgery time is 10-12 hours. In fact, it can even take more than 24 hours in cases involving the skull base. During my time there, I performed over 300 microsurgeries. I achieved 100% tissue viability in these cases, which was a success rate that had not been achieved in that department before.
How many years have you been working in Pittsburgh, in what field? What kind of cases do you mostly handle in Pittsburgh?
http://www.plasticsurgery.pitt.edu/person/t-oguz-acarturk
Other subjects I am interested in in the US are aesthetic breast surgery, functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty (nose aesthetics), facial fractures, facial paralysis, thorax abdomen and genital area repairs, aesthetic repair of the face, hand surgery and limb amputations. In addition, fat tissue-related surgeries, body shaping with fat suction, fat injection and stem cell treatments obtained from fat tissue are surgeries I frequently perform. Unlike American surgeons, since I use a different technique for breast reduction that leaves fewer scars and lifts the breast more, over time, my other colleagues have referred their patients to me, especially in young patients where aesthetics are at the forefront. It has been accepted among surgeons in the international arena that Turkish surgeons have a lot of experience and good results, especially in the field of rhinoplasty. I managed to continue my experience in this field at the University of Pittsburgh and my colleagues there started to refer almost all rhinoplasty patients they came to me.
Although we specialize in some subjects, due to the structure of the department and the workload in the USA, I have treated all types of patients. I have worked a lot especially on hand surgery, limb amputations and complex facial injuries and fractures. I have had a wide range of work areas not only in the acute (immediate) treatments of these patients but also in cases requiring secondary repair. In addition, since I was also a part of the team dealing with facial paralysis, I have had extensive experience in microsurgery and muscle transfer and dynamic repair of facial paralysis. Another area of interest of mine is fat tissue surgeries. The University of Pittsburgh is an international center in the world in this regard. After obtaining the patient's own fat, I use it in both aesthetic and repair surgery and contribute to comprehensive studies as a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh and in the USA. Some of these studies also include stem cell technologies. I frequently use these technologies especially in tissue repairs of patients who have received cancer, burns and post-cancer radiation therapy. I also serve as a consultant to various stem cell companies in the USA.
Other fat surgeries I perform are body shaping, liposuction, lipodystrophy (fat distribution disorder) and lipedema (swelling due to fat accumulation in the leg). Recently, I have also started performing lymphedema (swelling due to fluid accumulation in the leg) surgery, which has become widespread in the world, and I have achieved good results. We go to Vietnam as a large team with the participation of various surgeons from America for 2 weeks a year and undertake the treatment of very difficult cases in different hospitals. The surgeries I perform more in Vietnam are toe-to-hand transfers, repairs in the absence of ears (microtia), cleft lip and palate and brachial plexus surgery. We provide treatment to people in great need with good teamwork in difficult conditions.
How did you come to Muğla and Marmaris?
Everyone asks this question, “Why Muğla?” I am still an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. I still work intensively and actively in Pittsburgh for part of the year. However, I chose Muğla to be with my family and to spend time in my country. I have never liked city life and have always avoided crowds and noise. However, the number of plastic surgeons in Muğla is low and there is a bright future for health tourism. There is the sea, and I sail. There are ski resorts and mountains, and I snowboard and do mountaineering. The sum of all these attracted me here.
What types of cases do you perform?
I perform all types of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery surgeries. I also have a team that has worked with me before for some major surgeries. Here, I am establishing the infrastructure for all surgeries, including the most complex and difficult plastic surgery surgeries performed in the world and in Turkey.
Are you planning to provide training in this field in Turkey?
During my stay in Turkey, I trained many assistants. I gave training in national and international courses and congresses. After returning to the US, I started a training program for young Turkish plastic surgeons. This was the first time this was started by a Turkish plastic surgeon working internationally. There is no other example. Many people came to me and received training. I still continue this training program. I constantly give speeches and organize courses at national and international meetings. I try to train my young colleagues not only in the field of medicine but also in the field of life and ethics. I have other projects for the future.
You are the only "American Board" certified plastic surgeon in Turkey. How important is this?
Last year, I passed the very comprehensive exam of the "American Board of Plastic Surgery" and achieved all the qualifications and received the American board certificate. I am currently the only American Board Certified plastic surgeon working in Turkey. Having a board certificate in the USA is an indicator of superior quality and being an ethical surgeon. Many hospitals without a board certificate cannot work. Obtaining this certificate is the result of a difficult process and is achieved by providing high quality both in surgeries and patient care. Just as the whole world looks to the "FDA" approval in the USA, this is actually something like that. I also have a European Board certificate, but I can say that this is only a small achievement compared to the American Board.
Is there a special reason for your advancement in microsurgery?
Microsurgery is probably the most difficult area of plastic surgery. There is nothing that a microsurgeon cannot do. Head and neck microsurgery in particular has a different difficulty. Very few people in the US specialize in microsurgery, and most of them focus on breast microsurgery, which is less demanding. There are few who remain head and neck microsurgeons, and their weight and standing within this community is generally different. They often do cases that no one wants to touch. I had a very good surgeon teacher during my training, and he is currently a colleague of mine working in the same department. There was no surgery this surgeon couldn’t do and I always wanted to be like him. His opinion would be sought as a last resort, if he couldn’t do it, that surgery wouldn’t be performed. When I went to America as a professor, I took over the directorship of head and neck microsurgery from him. I remember one day, during my second year in America, a very difficult case with complications (post-operative problems) belonging to another surgeon was being discussed at the weekly meeting of the department. Everyone gave their opinions, mutual discussions and thoughts occurred, but no one could find a common ground. Finally, my professor stood up and said, “If everything is exhausted, there is one last resort, you can send it to Dr. Oğuz Acartürk, he will fix everything.” This is the proudest moment of my life. I am happy to be a microsurgeon and a reparative surgeon. Lost tissues can be renewed and all kinds of repairs can be achieved with microsurgery and tissue transfer. I can say that there is nothing microsurgery can’t do.
What do you think are the most difficult cases? Or cases that seem routine to you but cannot be done in every country?
This is a very broad question and concept. Every case has its own difficulties and a good surgeon should not perceive any case as simple. It is very difficult to give to a person what nature gives, so cases that require high functionality and visuality are the most difficult cases, no matter where in the body they are. Turkish plastic surgeons are very talented and internationally recognized doctors. Turkish plastic surgery has an important place in the international arena, both in repair surgery and aesthetic surgery. Every surgery is performed in our country. However, the biggest problem in the country is that it is not possible to work multidisciplinary (multi-field) in many places and therefore, big cases that can be done easily are rarely performed. Another problem is that many trained surgeons switch to aesthetic surgery in order to earn money and become famous as soon as possible. Unfortunately, as the number and training of plastic surgeons who perform real repair surgery decreases, the quality also decreases. But our young colleagues do not know that the best and safest aesthetic surgeons come from among good repair surgeons.
