Siyami Ersek Hospital

In 1968, a hush fell over Siyami Ersek Hospital. A pioneering surgeon, Dr. Siyami Ersek, prepared for Turkey’s second heart transplant. Just days after the first attempt in Ankara, the pressure was immense. This was at the Siyami Ersek Hospital, a place already making strides in cardiac care. The hospital, originally the Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases Hospital established in 1948, had been reborn under Dr. Ersek’s leadership. In 1962, it became the Istanbul Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center. The first operation, a lung cyst removal, marked a new era. The hospital began to perform increasingly complex procedures. In 1962, the first closed mitral commissurotomy took place. The first open-heart surgery followed in 1963, repairing an atrial septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. The hospital continued to push boundaries. The first artificial mitral valve implantation happened in 1963. The first artificial aortic valve followed in 1964. That same year, Siyami Ersek Hospital conducted its first double valve replacement. In 1965, the hospital performed its first pacemaker implantation. Siyami Ersek Hospital even hosted Europe’s first triple heart valve replacement in 1966. The heart transplant in 1968 further cemented the hospital’s reputation for innovation. From its humble 40-bed beginnings, Siyami Ersek Hospital expanded to 200 beds in 1967. The hospital continued to grow and modernize throughout the following decades. The intensive care unit expanded in the mid-1980s, and new operating rooms were added. Angioplasty and valvuloplasty procedures became routine in the late 1980s. An arrhythmia department and electrophysiology lab were established in 1996. By the turn of the millennium, a new 22-story building doubled the hospital’s capacity, solidifying its place as one of the world’s largest heart hospitals. Dr. Ersek’s legacy lives on at the Siyami Ersek Hospital, a testament to his dedication and a beacon of hope for patients seeking advanced cardiac care.