I was born in 1958 in Ankara. I completed my primary education at Ankara Kavaklıdere Primary School and my secondary and high school education at Ankara Atatürk High School. In 1975, I began my medical education at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. After graduating in 1981, I worked for six months as a general practitioner at the Emergency and General Surgery Services of SSK Ankara Hospital.
After passing the Specialization in Medicine Exam conducted by the Ministry of Health, I started my general surgery residency in April 1982 at SSK Istanbul Okmeydanı Hospital. During this period, I completed all the necessary rotations. In early 1985, after successfully passing the required exam held by Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, I transferred to the Department of General Surgery at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine to continue my specialized training. In October 1988, I completed my specialization with a thesis titled “Surgical Treatment of Sigmoid Colon Volvulus” and became a general surgery specialist.
In December 1988, I started working as a specialist research assistant in the Department of General Surgery at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine. I continued this position uninterrupted until October 1992, when I obtained the title of Associate Professor of General Surgery after passing the relevant exam. From January 15 to March 15, 1993, I fulfilled my military service as a short-term surgeon at GATA Haydarpaşa Military Hospital’s General Surgery Clinic.
Between April 3 and June 2, 1995, and again between June 5 and July 28, 2000, I worked as a visiting lecturer on a scholarship at the Colorectal Surgery Department of Cleveland Clinic in the United States. I am a member of the Turkish Surgical Association, Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgery Association, Senologic International Society, and Turkish Cancer Society.
I was appointed as a professor in 1998. Currently, I continue to serve as a faculty member at Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery. I speak English, am married to an ophthalmologist, and have one child.