Prof. Erkin Sönmez, MD

Prof. Erkin Sönmez, MD is a neurosurgeon at Acibadem Maslak Hospital in İstanbul, where he works in the Neurosurgery unit with a subspecialty focus on Spine Health. His practice is centered on spinal disorders, including low back pain, neck pain and back pain, disc herniation, spinal deformities such as kyphosis and scoliosis, spinal hypolordosis and the treatment of spinal fractures. He has more than 22 years in medicine and joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2026. He is a member of AO Spine, Eurospine, the Turkish Spine Association, the Türk Nöroşirürji Association and the Ankara Medical Chamber.

Dr. Sönmez graduated from Başkent University Faculty of Medicine in 2004 and trained in the Department of Neurosurgery there as a research assistant from 2004 to 2010. He completed his compulsory state service at Batman Regional State Hospital between 2010 and 2011 and then returned to Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, as a specialist physician and later a lecturer. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 2013, Associate Professor in 2017 and Professor in 2022. His spine training includes clinical fellowships at the Department of Spine Surgery, Basel University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland (2012) and at Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi-GSpine 4, Milan Italy (2018). From 2023 to 2025 he served as Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, and from 2023 to 2026 he worked in the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Ankara Hospital.

Clinical focus

Dr. Sönmez evaluates and treats a range of spinal conditions. These include degenerative problems such as disc herniation and chronic low back, neck and back pain, as well as disorders of spinal alignment, including spinal hypolordosis, kyphosis and scoliosis. Patients with spinal deformities are assessed for the nature and extent of the curvature and the symptoms it causes, and the available options are discussed on an individual basis.

A further part of his work is spinal fracture treatment. Depending on the type of fracture and the patient’s overall condition, this may involve minimally invasive procedures such as kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty, in which the fractured vertebra is stabilized. Whether such a procedure is appropriate is determined only after a clinical examination and a review of current imaging.

How Dr. Sönmez works with international patients

Dr. Sönmez consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for other languages. Before a visit, the Acibadem international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as MRI, CT or X-ray reports, laboratory results, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital stay. 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 consultations are available for international patients who wish to discuss their case before traveling.