A physician who survived the 1999 Marmara earthquake after spending 17 hours under the rubble of his home is now helping patients at Istanbul’s Sultan Abdülhamid Han Training and Research Hospital recover from crush injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning and diving-related illnesses through hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Dr. Yavuz Aslan, who was a medical student and living in Gölcük, in Kocaeli Province in northwestern Türkiye, when the Aug. 17, 1999 earthquake struck, was rescued with minor injuries and no permanent damage after his home collapsed. He lost close friends and neighbors in the disaster.
Years later, his experience of the earthquake, together with his interest in diving, influenced his decision to specialize in underwater and hyperbaric medicine.
Today, Aslan works at the hospital’s Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic, where he treats patients suffering from a range of conditions, including crush injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning and diving-related illnesses.
The treatment is also used for acute traumatic ischemia, soft-tissue infections and sudden hearing and vision loss.
