Prof. Ayşe Korkmaz Toygar, MD

Prof. Ayşe Korkmaz Toygar, MD is a neonatology specialist working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Acibadem Atakent Hospital in İstanbul, within the Pediatrics unit. She has more than 36 years in medicine, and her work centers on newborns who require intensive care, including premature infants and infants with breathing or neurological problems in the first days and weeks of life.

Dr. Toygar graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 1990. She completed her training in the Department of Child Health and Diseases at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 1996 and her neonatology training at the same faculty in 2000. She became a Professor at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 2012 and joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2015. She is a member of the Türkiye Milli Pediatri Association and the Türk Neonatoloji Association.

Clinical focus

Dr. Toygar’s clinical interests are in the conditions most often seen in a neonatal intensive care setting. These include prematurity and the problems that can accompany early birth, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), in which immature lungs struggle to support breathing after delivery, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung condition that can develop in premature infants who have needed prolonged breathing support. She also cares for newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a brain injury related to reduced oxygen or blood flow around the time of birth, and uses phototherapy in the management of newborn jaundice. In each case, the approach depends on the infant’s gestational age, clinical condition and response to treatment, and families are involved in discussions about care.

Dr. Toygar has co-authored a number of publications in neonatology. Topics include the effect of phototherapy on ductal patency, placental findings in intrauterine growth restriction, serum prohepcidin levels in premature newborns with oxygen radical diseases, the etiology and outcome of hydrops fetalis, cholestasis in infants with immune hydrops fetalis and in very low birth weight infants, postnatal follow-up of infants with a prenatal diagnosis of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, the causes of infant mortality and the national registration system in Turkey, mothers’ knowledge of infant care and nutrition, and the seasonal characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus infections in Turkey.

How Dr. Toygar works with international patients

Dr. Toygar speaks Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for families who speak other languages. The Acibadem international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as ultrasound, MRI or X-ray reports, laboratory results, operative notes and discharge summaries, arranges appointments and organizes the hospital visit. A first consultation typically covers the infant’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 families who wish to discuss a case before or instead of traveling.