Prof. Sevgi Şahin, MD

Prof. Sevgi Şahin, MD is a nephrology specialist in the Nephrology Department at Acibadem Maslak Hospital in İstanbul. Her clinical work covers kidney diseases, kidney failure, hemodialysis, diabetic nephropathy, hydronephrosis and nephrotic syndrome. With more than 37 years in medicine, she has worked in university, training and private hospital settings in Turkey and has completed a period at a transplantation institute in the United States.

Dr. Şahin graduated from İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine in 1989. From 1992 to 1997 she worked at the Ministry of Health Okmeydanı Training Hospital, completing her internal medicine training at Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital in 1997. She then worked in the Department of Nephrology at İstanbul University İstanbul Faculty of Medicine from 1998 to 2000, where she completed her nephrology training in 2000. Between 2000 and 2009 she worked at the Ministry of Health Göztepe Training Hospital, where she became an Associate Professor in 2006. From 2007 to 2008 she spent time at the UPENN Transplantation Institute in Philadelphia, USA. She subsequently worked at Özel Gaziosmanpaşa Hospital (2009–2013), Medipol University Mega Hastaneler Kompleksi (2013–2014) and Başkent University İstanbul Hospital, where she served as a nephrology specialist from 2014 to 2015, before joining Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2015. She is a member of The Transplantation Society, the Turkish Nephrology Association, TONKKD Turkish Association of Organ Transplantation Organizations Coordination and ERA – EDTA European Renal Association European Dialysis and Transplant Association.

Clinical focus

Dr. Şahin’s practice centers on the assessment and management of kidney diseases and kidney failure. This includes evaluating how well the kidneys are functioning, identifying the underlying cause where possible and planning care that is appropriate to the stage and course of the condition. For patients whose kidney function has declined to the point where renal replacement therapy is needed, she is involved in hemodialysis care.

She also sees patients with diabetic nephropathy, a kidney complication of diabetes, and with hydronephrosis, in which the kidney becomes enlarged because urine cannot drain normally. Nephrotic syndrome, a group of signs that may indicate damage to the filtering units of the kidney, is a further area of her work. In each case the approach depends on the individual patient’s history, laboratory results and imaging, and the options are discussed with the patient before a plan is agreed.

How Dr. Şahin works with international patients

Dr. Şahin 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, arranges appointments and organises 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, which can be helpful for an initial review of existing records or for follow-up where an in-person visit is not required.