Defne Sürek, Physiotherapist

Defne Sürek is a physiotherapist working in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Acibadem Maslak Hospital in İstanbul, Türkiye. She has more than nine years of experience in the field. Her clinical work brings together physiotherapy, personalized rehabilitation, mobility rehabilitation, functional restoration and pain reduction rehabilitation, with treatment plans shaped around the individual needs, limitations and goals of each patient rather than a fixed protocol.

Defne Sürek graduated from Haliç University in 2017 and later continued her studies at Bahçeşehir University, completing them in 2022. She joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2023 and now sees patients within the hospital’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation unit, where she provides physiotherapy as part of the rehabilitation care offered there.

Clinical focus

Physiotherapy is the core of Defne Sürek’s work. A personalized rehabilitation program begins with an assessment of how a patient moves, where movement is limited and how pain, stiffness or weakness affects daily activities. Based on this assessment, a program of exercises and physiotherapy techniques is planned and then adjusted over time as the patient progresses or as new difficulties appear. The aim of mobility rehabilitation is to help patients regain or maintain the ability to move safely, whether that means walking, changing position, climbing stairs or carrying out everyday tasks at home and at work.

Functional restoration focuses on returning patients to the activities that matter to them after illness, injury or surgery, while pain reduction rehabilitation uses movement-based approaches to help reduce pain and lessen its impact on function. Progress in rehabilitation is gradual and varies from one person to another, and Defne Sürek reviews goals with each patient as treatment continues so that expectations remain realistic. Physiotherapy of this kind also forms part of the broader rehabilitation programs described on this site, such as stroke rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation.

How Defne Sürek works with international patients

Defne Sürek speaks Turkish and English, so patients from abroad can communicate with her in either language, and interpreters can be arranged for other languages. Before a visit, the Acibadem international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, for example MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, laboratory and pathology results, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit itself. 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 rehabilitation options that may be appropriate. Video consultation is available for international patients, which allows a patient to speak with Defne Sürek about their situation before traveling to İstanbul.