Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation - Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul

About the Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul

The Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul offers the full range of medical services for patients with benign and malignant diseases of the blood and hematopoietic system. In addition, the department is the leading highly specialized Turkish medical facility in the field of bone marrow transplantation. This procedure is indicated for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and aplastic anemia. The Section for Bone Marrow Transplantation meets all the current standards of modern medicine, as well as the criteria of the European JACIE organization, which accredits hospitals specializing in this procedure. The patients with blood malignancies receive the most effective chemotherapy regimens, which allow the doctors to achieve brilliant therapeutic results even in especially complex clinical cases. The department's doctors also successfully perform apheresis procedures. The department is headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. med. Sebnem Izmir Guner.

The highly professional medical team with excellent training in the area of their specialization and exceptional clinical experience takes care of the health of patients with diseases of the hematopoietic system. The department's hematologists use in their daily practice progressive technological base and effective latest generation medicines for the accurate diagnostics and successful treatment of diseases of their profile. The comprehensive approach to the treatment of each problem in hematology or hematologic oncology also plays an important role in achieving a successful therapeutic result.

The priorities of the department's work include the treatment of lymphomas (Hodgkin's lymphomas and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas), multiple myeloma, acute and chronic leukemia. The optimal treatment methods for these pathologies are chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Antibody therapy, targeted therapy and radiation therapy can also be carried out. When prescribing chemotherapy, the doctors aim to destroy malignant cells in the human body by means of the latest cytotoxic drugs. Bone marrow transplantation serves for normalization of the production of blood cells and, accordingly, restoration of the normal hematopoiesis.

The department specializes in both autologous bone marrow transplantation, which involves the extraction of stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow and their repeated transfer after the necessary processing, as well as allogeneic transplantation, which involves the use of donor material (obtained from related and unrelated donors). The department's doctors actively use advanced treatment methods in their work, and bone marrow transplantation is no exception. This procedure is performed without any surgical manipulations. The donor material is obtained using apheresis, while the transplantation itself is carried out through the vascular access. Bone marrow cells have special biological properties, thanks to which they independently enter the bone marrow and begin to produce blood there. The main task of the doctor is to monitor the patient at the stage of activation of the transplanted bone marrow cells. During this period, the patient is at risk of developing infectious processes, anemia and haemorrhage. The primary purpose of the specialist is to prevent bone marrow rejection. A good technical infrastructure and strict hygiene standards are decisive factors in the success of the procedure. The department's specialists have all the necessary resources for high-quality bone marrow transplantation and regularly demonstrate high treatment success rates, which the leading clinics in developed countries can envy.

The main clinical focuses of the department include:

• Diagnostics and treatment of malignancies of the hematopoietic system
  • Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  • Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
  • Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
  • Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
  • Myeloproliferative disorders
• Diagnostics and treatment of benign hematopoietic diseases
  • Acquired and hereditary anemias
  • Thalassemia
  • Haemophilia
  • Von Willebrand disease
  • Blood-clotting disorders (coagulopathies)
• Diagnostics and treatment of other hematological pathologies