Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz and his team performed a complex surgery, possible in only a few major cities in Turkey, for the first time in Denizli
A Syrian patient, who had undergone three surgeries over the past 10 years (two in Damascus) to overcome thyroid cancer, regained her health through the surgery performed by Denizli Private Egekent Hospital General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz, a procedure that is only possible in a few major cities.
The 52-year-old patient, who had been battling the disease for 10 years and had undergone two previous surgeries, recovered at Denizli Private Egekent Hospital after the operation performed by General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz.
Hatice Eliş, a 53-year-old Syrian who had thyroid cancer for 10 years, previously underwent two surgeries in Damascus and one in Turkey. Since the cancer cells could not be completely removed from her body and the disease had spread to her neck, she applied to Denizli Private Egekent Hospital. General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz, performing a complex surgery usually available only in centers like Istanbul and Ankara, successfully removed all cancerous cells while preserving the patient’s vital nerves. Eliş, who recovered, was discharged after two days of observation.
Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz, General Surgery Specialist at Private Egekent Hospital, provided information about Hatice Eliş’s long-standing battle with cancer and the successful surgery, stating: “Ms. Hatice was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer 10 years ago in Damascus. They removed one side of the thyroid nodule, and approximately a month later, after the result showed Medullary thyroid cancer, a second surgery was performed. Following removal of the remaining portion, she underwent chemotherapy. Since the cancerous cells could not be completely removed surgically, over the years, metastases appeared in other areas of her neck — the cancer cells spread to the outer parts of her neck, surrounding vital veins and nerves extending from the brain to the body. After migrating here due to the war in Syria, a sample was taken from a recurring lymph node at another hospital, and the result showed medullary carcinoma metastasis. On the recommendation of the oncology doctor, the patient applied to us for complete removal of the remaining cancerous cells in the neck and removal of the remaining thyroid tissue.”
“A complex surgery performed in only a few centers was carried out for the first time in Denizli”
Emphasizing the importance of removing all cancerous cells from the body in such cases, Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz stated: “Medullary carcinomas constitute 5% of thyroid cancers and are types of cancer that have no treatment options other than surgery and respond poorly to chemotherapy. The only option is the complete removal of all cancerous cells. This requires removal of the remaining thyroid tissue and all lymph nodes while simultaneously preserving cranial nerves, peripheral cervical and thoracic nerves, and the jugular and carotid veins. We are proud and happy to have successfully performed this complex surgery in Denizli with our expert team at Egekent Hospital, which was previously possible only in major cities like Istanbul and Ankara. With this successful operation, we have demonstrated that these surgeries can also be performed in Denizli.”
“Removed all cancerous cells while preserving all nerves”
The patient, who had undergone three previous surgeries, was discharged after two days of observation. Op. Dr. İbrahim Ekiz explained the details of the successful surgery: “We removed all lymph nodes in sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the patient’s neck. At the same time, we preserved the cranial nerves descending to the base of the skull, peripheral cervical and thoracic nerves, as well as the jugular and carotid veins, and removed all tumor cells without causing any complications. During the surgical procedure, we noticed that central neck dissection (removal of cancerous cells in the neck) had not been performed in the patient’s previous surgeries in Syria and Turkey. During the operation, we completed the central neck dissection and also removed the remaining thyroid tissue without damaging the vocal nerve. We removed all cancerous cells while preserving all nerves. Our patient, who had no complications throughout, was discharged in healthy condition on the second day.”