Department of General and Bariatric Surgery - Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul

About the Department of General and Bariatric Surgery at Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul

The Department of General and Bariatric Surgery at the Memorial Sisli Hospital Istanbul offers the full range of effective surgical treatment at the highest level of modern medicine. The priority clinical tasks of the department's doctors include the surgical treatment of diseases of the abdominal organs, including the stomach, small and large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and biliary tract, as well as hernias and pathologies of the esophagus and thyroid gland. Of particular interest is colorectal surgery in patients with colon and rectal cancer, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. In addition, the department's specialists provide treatment to the patients with morbid obesity. To quickly reduce body weight, the department performs gastric bypass surgery and sleeve gastroplasty. Such operations are performed in patients with a body mass index above 35, with the available complications of obesity. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Gokhan Cipe.

The department employs highly qualified surgeons who have successful clinical experience in performing operations of any degree of complexity. The doctors working in the medical facility keep pace with innovations, and therefore most surgical interventions are performed using sparing minimally invasive, endoscopic and robot-assisted techniques, which today are the gold standard of progressive international medicine. The main advantage of this treatment is that there is no need for extensive incisions of the anterior abdominal wall. When performing a minimally invasive intervention, the surgeon makes only a few incisions 0.5-1 cm in size. This approach contributes to minimal trauma to healthy tissues during surgery, which in turn reduces blood loss and the risk of postoperative complications, including infectious ones.

One of the main focuses of the department's specialists is the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal cancer, including pancreatic and gallbladder cancer, as well as thyroid cancer. As a rule, a surgical intervention is not enough to achieve a stable remission, so radiation therapists, chemotherapists, nutritionists, physiotherapists and other doctors are involved in the therapeutic process. The treatment regimen for each patient is developed by a board of doctors, which guarantees an interdisciplinary approach and a successful outcome of therapy. The treatment is followed by regular follow-up examinations in order to prevent the recurrence of oncology.

The department's range of services is complemented by bariatric surgery. Weight loss surgery is indicated for patients with a body mass index above 35. This treatment option is used only in case of ineffective diet therapy, exercise and medication. Obesity is not only an aesthetic problem, but it also causes serious health problems – excess weight can provoke the development of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, diseases of the cardiovascular system and other pathologies. Bariatric surgery allows a person not only to quickly lose weight, but also to improve health, prevent the development of life-threatening pathologies.

The department's surgeons specialize in gastric bypass surgery and sleeve gastrectomy. It is these surgical techniques that are globally recognized and most effective in the fight against morbid obesity. Gastric bypass surgery involves the formation of a small reservoir in the upper part of the stomach that can only hold a small amount of solid food. Also, when performing the operation, the surgeon creates a bypass to prevent food eaten from entering most of the stomach and part of the small intestine. The essence of sleeve gastrectomy is the formation of a narrow gastric "sleeve", which will impede the passage of solid food from the esophagus to the end of the stomach. The operation involves the removal of the body of the stomach and gastric fundus. The department's specialists have performed many successful bariatric surgeries, which have significantly improved the quality of life of obese patients.

The department's key clinical focuses include:

• Surgical treatment of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine)
• Surgical treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease)
• Surgical treatment of pathologies of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and biliary tract
• Surgical treatment of pathologies of the small intestine, colon, including the rectum (coloproctology), with a focus on the surgical treatment of colorectal cancer
• Surgical treatment of thyroid and parathyroid pathologies
• Hernia repair surgery (anterior abdominal wall hernias, inguinal and incisional hernias)
• Surgical treatment of anorectal diseases (pathologies of the colon and rectum, anal region)
• Bariatric surgery
  • Gastric bypass surgery
  • Sleeve gastroplasty
• Other surgical options