Prof. Serhat Çelikel, MD

Prof. Serhat Çelikel, MD is a specialist in pulmonary medicine working in the Pulmonology unit at Acibadem Maslak Hospital and Acibadem Altunizade Hospital in İstanbul. He joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2019 after many years in university and state hospital settings. His clinical work centers on asthma, lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and allergy immunotherapy, and he has more than 35 years of experience in medicine.

Dr. Çelikel graduated from İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 1991. Between 1992 and 1997 he completed his residency in chest diseases and tuberculosis at the Ministry of Health Yedikule Chest Diseases and Surgery Center, qualifying as a chest diseases specialist in 1997. He then worked as a specialist physician at the Ministry of Health Tokat State Hospital from 1997 to 2002 before joining Tokat GOP University Faculty of Medicine Department of Chest Diseases, where he served as a faculty member and department chair from 2002 to 2013 and became Associate Professor in 2011. From 2005 to 2008 he undertook subspecialty training at the Hacettepe Faculty of Medicine Department of Chest Diseases, Adult Allergy Unit, completing his qualification in allergic diseases at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 2009. He spent periods as visiting faculty at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard/Boston-Pulmonary Department in 2004 and at the Scripps Clinic/San Diego- Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in 2012. From 2013 to 2019 he was a faculty member at İstanbul Medipol University Faculty of Medicine Department of Chest Diseases, where he became Professor in 2017. He is a member of the Turkish National Allergy and Clinical Immunology Association, Toraks Demeği, the Turkish Respiratory Research Association and the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology European Respiratory Society. His published work includes studies on pulmonary embolism, drug allergy, aspirin-induced respiratory reactions, exhaled breath condensate markers in asthma and COPD, and asthma and allergic diseases in school children.

Clinical focus

Dr. Çelikel evaluates and manages adults with asthma, including patients whose symptoms may be related to allergic triggers. Drawing on his subspecialty training in adult allergy, he also provides allergy immunotherapy, which is considered for selected patients after an allergy assessment.

He also treats lower respiratory tract infections, including bronchitis and pneumonia. Assessment generally involves reviewing the patient’s history, examination findings and any existing imaging or laboratory results before treatment options are discussed.

How Dr. Çelikel works with international patients

Dr. Çelikel 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, for example chest X-ray or CT reports, laboratory and pathology results 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 consultations are available for international patients who wish to discuss their case before traveling or to follow up afterward.