Mehtap Selçuk, MD

Mehtap Selçuk, MD is an anesthesiology specialist working in the Anesthesiology & Reanimation unit at Acibadem Atasehir Hospital in İstanbul. Her subspecialty area is intensive care, and her areas of expertise include palliative care, intensive care treatment and advanced life support. She has more than 41 years in medicine and is a member of the Turkish Anesthesiology and Reanimation Association.

Dr. Selçuk studied at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine from 1985 to 1991. Her early career included positions at the Ministry of Health Information, Education and Communication Coordination Office, Mardin (1992–1994) and the Mardin Mother and Child Health and Family Planning Center (1992–1996). She completed her specialization in Anesthesiology and Reanimation at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 2001 and remained in its Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation until 2002. She then worked at Türk Diyanet Vakfı 29 Mayıs Hospital, İstanbul (2002–2007) and Vatan Merter Hospital (2007–2008) before joining Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2008, where she has practiced since.

Clinical focus

Dr. Selçuk’s clinical work centers on anesthesiology and intensive care. In the intensive care setting she is involved in the treatment of critically ill patients, including monitoring, organ support and advanced life support measures. Decisions about intensive care treatment depend on each patient’s condition, existing medical reports and the assessment of the treating team, and the course of care may change as the clinical picture evolves.

Palliative care is a further area of her expertise. This involves attention to symptom control and comfort for patients with serious illness, in coordination with the other specialists involved in their care. Dr. Selçuk has also contributed to the medical literature, including a book chapter on anesthesia in gynecology and journal articles on the role of antifibrinolytic agents in gynecologic cancer surgery (Saudi Medical Journal, 2006) and on the effects of infusion and bolus administration of cisatracurium on histamine release (Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology, 2005).

How Dr. Selçuk works with international patients

Dr. Selçuk speaks Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for patients who speak other languages. The Acibadem 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 who wish to discuss their situation before traveling, and any recommendations made remotely are subject to confirmation after an in-person assessment.