Prof. Ahmet Demirkaya, MD

Prof. Ahmet Demirkaya, MD is a thoracic surgeon in the Thoracic Surgery Department of Acibadem Health Group, which he joined in 2020. His listed areas of expertise cover lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, pectus excavatum and its minimally invasive repair, vascular thoracic outlet syndrome, mediastinoscopy, video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy, mediastinal lymphadenectomy, central venous port implantation and pinch-off syndrome.

Dr. Demirkaya attended Kabatas Boys High School, graduating in 1989. He graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine in 1996 and completed his specialty training in thoracic surgery at Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 2005. He is a member of the Turkish Society of Thoracic Surgery, the Lung Cancer Association of Turkey, the Turkish Thoracic Society, the Respiratory Research Society of Turkey and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons. His profile lists ten publications dated between 2010 and 2013. Their subjects include mediastinoscopy in patients considered high risk, video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy in resected non-small cell lung cancer, molecular markers in non-small cell lung cancer, complications of the minimally invasive correction of pectus excavatum, vascular thoracic outlet syndrome after such repair, and pinch-off syndrome following central venous port implantation.

Clinical focus

A central part of Dr. Demirkaya’s work concerns lung cancer, in particular non-small cell lung cancer. His listed procedures in this area include mediastinoscopy, video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy and mediastinal lymphadenectomy, which are used to assess and remove lymph nodes in the mediastinum, the central compartment of the chest. The choice of approach depends on the individual findings and is discussed with each patient after the available imaging and reports have been reviewed.

Dr. Demirkaya also treats pectus excavatum, a congenital depression of the chest wall, including its minimally invasive repair. His areas of expertise further include vascular thoracic outlet syndrome and central venous port implantation, together with pinch-off syndrome, a complication that can follow port placement. Whether a given procedure is suitable is assessed case by case.

How Dr. Demirkaya works with international patients

Dr. Demirkaya speaks Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for other languages. Before a visit, the Acibadem international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, arranges appointments and organizes the hospital stay. A first consultation typically covers the patient’s history and symptoms, a review of existing imaging and previous treatments, a clinical examination and a discussion of the options. Video consultation is available for international patients, which allows a preliminary conversation with Dr. Demirkaya before travelling. Any recommendation is provisional until the patient has been examined and the relevant investigations have been reviewed in person.