Birsen Köse, MD

Birsen Köse, MD is an Intensive Care specialist at Acibadem Altunizade Hospital in İstanbul, where she works within the Anesthesiology & Reanimation unit. Her clinical work focuses on the assessment, monitoring and treatment of patients who require intensive care. With more than 24 years in medicine, she brings a background in anesthesiology and reanimation to the care of critically ill patients.

Dr. Köse graduated from İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 2002. She then completed her specialist training in Anesthesiology and Reanimation at İstanbul University İstanbul Faculty of Medicine in 2009. In 2017 she joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services, and she currently practices in the Intensive Care Unit at Acibadem Altunizade Hospital.

Clinical focus

The core of Dr. Köse’s work is intensive care and critical care management. Patients admitted to an intensive care unit may have serious illnesses, may be recovering from major surgery or may have experienced a sudden deterioration in their condition. In this setting, her role includes the ongoing assessment of the patient’s condition, the planning and adjustment of treatment as the clinical picture changes, and coordination with the other specialists involved in the patient’s care. Decisions in intensive care depend on the individual patient’s diagnosis, overall condition and response to treatment, and are made on a case-by-case basis.

Patient monitoring is a central part of this work. Continuous observation of vital functions such as breathing, circulation and organ function allows changes to be recognized and addressed as they occur. Dr. Köse’s training in anesthesiology and reanimation supports this aspect of critical care, including the management of patients who need support for breathing or circulation and the stabilization of patients in acute situations. Her areas of expertise cover intensive care, critical care management, patient monitoring, anesthesiology and reanimation.

How Dr. Köse works with international patients

Dr. Köse speaks Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for patients who speak other languages. For international patients, the 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, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit. 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 may be useful for an initial review of a patient’s situation before travel or for a discussion with relatives of a patient who is being considered for intensive care. Any recommendation given during a consultation is based on the information available at that time and may be revised once the patient has been examined in person and further findings are available.