Prof. Dr. Arzu Akçay

Prof. Dr. Arzu Akçay is a pathologist at Acibadem Atakent Hospital in İstanbul, where she works within the Pathology Department. Her role is laboratory based: she examines and interprets tissue and cell samples so that treating physicians have a diagnostic basis for their decisions. With more than 31 years in medicine, her work supports clinical teams across specialties rather than involving direct bedside treatment, and the findings she reports help guide the next steps in a patient’s care.

Dr. Akçay graduated from İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 1995 and completed her specialty training in Medical Pathology at the same faculty in 2000. In 2009, she completed further education at Marmara University Health Sciences Institute. She has been part of Acıbadem Healthcare Services since 2021.

Clinical focus

Dr. Akçay’s areas of expertise are medical pathology, tissue examination and cytological assessment. In tissue examination, samples obtained during diagnostic or surgical procedures are processed in the laboratory and studied under the microscope to identify changes in cell structure and tissue architecture. The pathology report describes what is observed and, where the findings allow, assigns a diagnosis or narrows the range of possible diagnoses for the referring physician.

Cytological assessment involves the evaluation of individual cells or small groups of cells, for example cells collected from body fluids or other sampling procedures, rather than intact tissue. Findings from both approaches are communicated to the referring physician, who considers them together with the patient’s history, clinical examination and imaging. A pathology result is one element of the overall diagnostic process, and its interpretation can depend on the clinical context. In some cases, additional sampling or further laboratory studies may be needed before a conclusion can be reached, and Dr. Akçay’s report indicates where this applies.

How Dr. Akçay works with international patients

Dr. Akçay speaks Turkish and English. For international patients, the Acibadem international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, laboratory and pathology results, operative notes and discharge summaries, arranges appointments and organises the hospital visit. Because pathology is a laboratory discipline, a review often centers on existing pathology reports and related documentation from previous care, and the team can indicate which materials are relevant in a given case. 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. Interpreters can be arranged when needed, and video consultation is available for international patients who wish to discuss their case remotely before or instead of traveling.