Doctor found 'careless' and 'unprepared' in death at private hospital

A patient who had been undergoing treatment for liver cancer for a year died following a complex surgery at a private hospital in Istanbul. Ivanka Yordanova, a Bulgarian national, passed away on July 29, 2025, hours after a 13-hour operation.

According to the family's lawyer, Şermin Tankut, Yordanova sought treatment after seeing an advertisement for General Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. S.Y. She was informed that she would receive drug therapy for three months followed by surgery. The treatment began in April 2025, and the surgery took place at the Istanbul hospital.

The family alleges that an autopsy was not performed despite their request and that Yordanova received improper drug treatment and amateurish procedures. They have filed a criminal complaint, prompting an investigation by the Ministry of Health's Professional Responsibility Board.

In the preliminary investigation, Prof. Dr. S.Y. denied the accusations, stating that the patient, who was in the third stage of cancer, underwent treatment and surgery after being fully informed. The procedure involved a "radical right hemihepatectomy, segmental left portal vein resection and reconstruction, partial right diaphragm resection and primary repair, partial inferior vena cava and primary resection, and abdominal packing." The patient later died in intensive care due to DIC syndrome.

Conversely, the hospital's Chief Physician and Responsible Manager, Prof. Dr. F.Y., stated that all preparations were meticulously made. He noted that Prof. Dr. S.Y. was a visiting surgeon, not a permanent staff member, who occasionally brought his private patients for operations. He asserted that no institutional shortcomings occurred during Yordanova's treatment and surgery.

However, a report by a general surgery expert committee, comprising professors and associate professors, concluded that the preparation for the advanced-stage liver cancer was insufficient. The report cited a lack of council decision-making and described the pre- and post-operative actions as amateurish. The committee found that the operating surgeon, Prof. Dr. S.Y., acted carelessly and without due diligence, recommending further investigation into his actions.