Prof. Dr. Ufuk Demirkılıç

Prof. Dr. Ufuk Demirkılıç is a cardiovascular surgeon at Acibadem Ankara Hospital in Ankara, where he works within the Cardiovascular Surgery unit. He has more than 41 years in medicine. His clinical work covers heart valve diseases, peripheral vascular occlusion, vasculitis, venous insufficiency, varicose vein treatment, ventricular septal defect, chronic wound care, and the treatment of lipedema and lymphedema.

Dr. Demirkılıç graduated from Gülhane Military Medical Academy Faculty of Medicine in 1985. From 1986 to 1988 he served as Head of the Health Section and Chief Physician at the General Staff, and from 1988 to 1993 he trained as a specialist in cardiovascular surgery at Gülhane Military Faculty of Medicine, completing his specialty training in 1993. He then headed the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic at Diyarbakır Military Hospital from 1993 to 1995. In 1995 he became Assistant Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Surgery at GATA and continued as a faculty member at Gülhane Military Faculty of Medicine, becoming Associate Professor in 1998 and Professor in 2004. From 2010 to 2015 he was Director of the Health Sciences Institute at Gülhane Military Faculty of Medicine, and from 2014 to 2016 he headed both the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and the Surgical Departments. In 2016 he served as Dean and Chief Physician of Gülhane Military Faculty of Medicine, followed by positions as Deputy Health Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces (2016–2017) and as Turkish Armed Forces Health Commander and General Director of Military Health Services at the Ministry of National Defense (2017–2019). He retired from public service in 2019. His association with Acıbadem Healthcare Services dates from 2014. He is a member of professional bodies including the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery, the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS), for which he is listed as country representative for Türkiye, The Society For Heart Valve Disease (SHVD) and the American College of Phlebology (ACP).

Clinical focus

Within cardiac surgery, Dr. Demirkılıç evaluates and treats heart valve diseases and ventricular septal defect. On the vascular side, his practice includes peripheral vascular occlusion and vasculitis, conditions in which the arterial supply to the limbs or organs may be compromised and in which careful assessment of the extent of disease guides the choice of treatment.

A further area of his work concerns the venous and lymphatic systems. He treats venous insufficiency and varicose veins, which form his subspecialty, and manages chronic wounds, which may be related to underlying circulatory disorders. He also treats lipedema and lymphedema, chronic conditions of the limbs that call for evaluation of both the circulation and the surrounding tissues before treatment is planned.

How Dr. Demirkılıç works with international patients

Dr. Demirkılıç consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for 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 who wish to discuss their vascular or cardiac condition before travelling.