Ayla Oktay, MD

Ayla Oktay, MD is a pediatric cardiology specialist who sees patients at Acibadem Maslak Hospital and Acibadem Bakirkoy Hospital in İstanbul, where she works within the Pediatrics unit. With more than 24 years in medicine, her clinical work centers on the assessment and management of heart conditions in unborn babies, newborns, infants and children, including congenital heart disease, heart valve disorders, cardiomyopathy, heart failure and arrhythmias.

Dr. Oktay graduated from Gazi University Faculty of Medicine in 2002. From 2002 to 2008 she trained as a research assistant at Kırıkkale University Faculty of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, completing her specialization in Child Health and Diseases in 2008. She then worked as a Pediatrics Specialist Physician at Gümüşhane State Hospital from 2008 to 2009 before beginning subspecialty training in pediatric cardiology at Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, where she was a Pediatric Cardiology Subspecialty Research Assistant from 2009 to 2013 and completed her subspecialty in 2013. In 2013 she joined Ahi Evren Chest, Heart and Vascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital as a Pediatric Cardiology Specialist Physician, and in 2016 she joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services. She is a member of the Turkish Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Association. Dr. Oktay has co-authored published case reports on topics including neonatal arterial thrombosis mimicking interrupted aortic arch, oral budesonide for protein-losing enteropathy in children after the Fontan operation, transposition of the great arteries, and a large intracardiac fungus ball in a premature infant.

Clinical focus

Dr. Oktay’s clinical practice covers a range of structural and functional heart conditions in children. This includes congenital heart disease such as atrial septal defect, as well as heart valve disorders, cardiomyopathy and heart failure. She also evaluates and manages arrhythmias in pediatric patients. In appropriate cases, cardiac catheterization forms part of her diagnostic and treatment approach.

A particular area of interest is fetal echocardiography and the prenatal diagnosis of heart conditions. This allows certain heart problems to be identified before birth, so that families and the care team can plan follow-up and care for the newborn in advance. Each assessment is tailored to the individual child, and the choice of investigations and treatment depends on the specific condition, its severity and the child’s overall health.

How Dr. Oktay works with international patients

Dr. Oktay consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for families who speak other languages. Before a visit, the international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as echocardiography, MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, laboratory results, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit. A first consultation typically covers the child’s history and symptoms, a review of existing imaging and previous treatments, a clinical examination and a discussion of the available options. Video consultation is available for international patients, which can be helpful for an initial review of a child’s records or for follow-up discussions after a visit.