Gülseren Sağcan, MD

Gülseren Sağcan, MD is a Pulmonary Medicine specialist working in the Pulmonology unit at Acibadem Altunizade Hospital in İstanbul. She has spent more than 23 years in medicine, and her clinical work centers on chronic lung disease, sleep-related breathing disorders, allergic and immunological conditions of the airways, and support for patients who wish to stop smoking. Her subspecialty areas are Smoke-Free Life, Treatment of Sleep Disorders, and Immunology and Allergic Diseases.

Dr. Sağcan graduated from Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine in 2003 and completed her specialty training at İstanbul University İstanbul Faculty of Medicine Department of Chest Diseases in 2010. She then worked at Mardin Kızıltepe Devlet Hospital from 2011 to 2012, at İstanbul Faculty of Medicine Sleep Center from 2013 to 2014, and at the Forensic Medicine Institute from 2013 to 2016. Between 2016 and 2019 she practiced at Biruni University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, and she joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2019. She is a member of the World Sleep Society, the Türk Toraks Association, the European Respiratory Society, and Uykuder. Her published work includes studies on sleep apnea in a worker exposed to organic solvents, pulmonary function and sleep-related breathing disorders in lipid storage disease, and the concordance of manual and automated sleep staging.

Clinical focus

Dr. Sağcan evaluates and manages a range of respiratory conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pulmonary fibrosis. Further information on these conditions is available on the pulmonary disease treatment page. She also assesses patients with lung and thoracic cancers and takes part in the diagnostic work-up of these diseases using bronchoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS). Immunology and allergic diseases affecting the respiratory system form another part of her practice.

Sleep-related breathing disorders are a particular area of interest. Dr. Sağcan investigates suspected sleep apnea with polysomnography, an overnight sleep study, and discusses treatment options with patients on the basis of the results. Through the Smoke-Free Life unit she provides smoking cessation support, which may be relevant for patients with COPD, asthma, or other chronic lung conditions.

How Dr. Sağcan works with international patients

Dr. Sağcan consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for patients who speak other languages. Before a visit, the international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as chest CT or X-ray reports, laboratory and pathology results, previous sleep study reports, 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 available options. Video consultation is available for international patients who wish to discuss their case with Dr. Sağcan remotely.