Turkish Surgeon Prof. Dr. Erol Kisli Operates from Wheelchair, Pioneering Global Medical Practice

Prof. Dr. Erol Kisli, a general surgeon at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital, became paraplegic after a traffic accident at age 31. Using a wheelchair, he has continued to perform abdominal surgeries for more than 28 years, earning professorship and international recognition. His techniques and academic contributions were highlighted in a landmark article in *Diseases of the Colon & Rectum*, marking the first worldwide documentation of a wheelchair‑bound surgeon maintaining an active operative practice.

In a separate medical development in Turkey, Prof. Dr. Haci Ahmet Alıcı of Medipol Mega University Hospital implanted a spinal‑cord stimulator in a 68‑year‑old patient whose chronic back‑pain persisted after disc surgery. The device, a form of spinal‑cord stimulation, was used after conventional treatments—including epidural injections and endoscopic procedures—failed, aiming to improve the patient’s sleep, mood, and daily functioning.