About Prof. Dr Hakan Zor

In 2000, I started my residency program at Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and completed in 2006.I continued to work as a specialist in the same department.

Perhaps I wanted to complete a deficiency left over from my residency. Intervention to the vessels below the knee was actually not a deficiency but a desperation. At that time, I thought of intervening to the vessels below the knee, rather than the abdominal and leg vessels that often come to mind when vascular surgery is mentioned. I have seen many feet and legs lost, particularly in diabetics, because the arteries below the knee were involved and could not be intervened. It was a demanding and challenging area, but someone had to do it. I have seen Buerger's patients at a young age, writhing in pain, desperately looking for a cure and watching their feet and legs being amputated over time, starting from the finger. It was a more difficult patient group than other diseases, but someone also had to do it. 'Difficult' was my surname and I was going to inspire for what was called impossible.

We started this journey for the first time with a 93-year-old patient whose leg would be amputated. We succeeded, sometimes we failed, and we learned from our failures. After 20 years of experience, we are still learning and taking lessons.

We set out to be a remedy especially for diabetic foot patients who were unclaimed and wandered from department to department. Half of these patients had vascular problems and Cardiovascular Surgery was the last department to be consulted. Like watering a seedling planted in a dry field, blood had to be sent to those legs. This was teamwork and the right intervention was essential. And we did so. We believed, we struggled, sometimes we were hopeless, but we did not give up. We developed our own surgical methods and techniques and we continue to do so.

Patients with vascular occlusion below the knee are so familiar with those words. 'Your capillaries are blocked. You can not have surgery'. We have operated and continue to operate such patients. We have saved and continue to save patients who were previously intervened in the leg but no longer had the chance of intervention and were told to have no chance. We had patients who were told 'Nothing can be done wherever you go all over the world'. We did it and I am glad we did.

The interventions that could be performed on patients with Buerger's Disease (Tromboangitis Obliterans), which is related to smoking, were limited. They were so difficult patients, but they were also young. With the development of technology, many treatments have been tried. However, complete success could not be achieved. The problem was vascular and vascular surgery was our business. We tried to do the most difficult cases and those who were told impossible. We partially succeeded but not in all cases. We took part in international organizations working for the treatment of this disease and we continue to work together.

We have treated many patients who were called 'difficult', 'impossible', 'out of luck'. Now we are a big family with all of them. And we continue to grow. This is not only my success but also the success of our team. Together with our team, we are here for your health…