Prof. Koray Acarli
6
reviews
Dear doctor, we will never forget you throughout our entire lives. Now Poyraz and I are living our happiest days thanks to you. May Allah grant you a long life. Paradise has eight gates — may the Lord grant you the right to enter through any of them you wish.
You are a wonderful person. No matter how much we thank you and your team, it will never be enough. We love you.
14/08/2025
You have given the joy of life to many families just like ours. With the deepest respect, I express my gratitude to you.
Greetings from Eskişehir.
29/09/2021
28/02/2020
22/12/2012
23/03/2012
14/03/2012
Professor Koray Acarli is one of the pioneers and most experienced surgeons in Turkey in the field of liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery, with over 40 years of clinical experience. He is currently a Professor of General Surgery, Liver and Pancreatic Surgery at the private Liv Hospital Ulus in Istanbul (since January 2025). For more than 25 years he headed Turkey’s leading liver transplant centers: from 1999 to 2006 — head of the Liver Transplantation Center at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, and from 2012 to 2024 — head of the Organ Transplantation Center at Memorial Şişli Hospital.
He received his professional training in liver transplantation at Mount Sinai Medical Center (New York, USA), one of the world’s leading organ transplant centers, where he worked in the liver transplantation department in 1991–1992 as a Research Fellow. He also completed an internship at the surgical clinic of the University of Hamburg (Germany) in 1995 as a Visiting Surgeon.
Professor Acarli specializes in the surgical treatment of tumors of the liver, pancreas, and bile ducts, including liver transplantation in adults and children, surgery for Klatskin tumors, cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer (including the Whipple procedure), benign and malignant liver tumors, as well as complex benign and obstructive bile duct diseases. He is the author of more than 60 scientific publications in international and national peer-reviewed journals.
Liv Hospital Ulus is a flagship private multidisciplinary hospital in Istanbul, part of one of Turkey’s leading private healthcare networks (the MLPCare group). The clinic is equipped with modern operating and intensive care units and provides a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of hepatobiliary and oncological diseases.
Why patients choose Professor Acarli:
- One of the pioneers of liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery in Turkey — over 40 years of surgical experience.
- For more than 25 years headed Turkey’s leading liver transplant centers — Istanbul University and Memorial Şişli.
- International training at Mount Sinai Medical Center (New York, USA) and an internship at the University of Hamburg (Germany).
- Specialized expertise in complex interventions — pancreatic tumors (including the Whipple procedure), Klatskin tumors, cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer, liver tumors, and liver transplantation in adults and children.
- Author of more than 60 scientific publications in international and national peer-reviewed journals.
- Active participant in international congresses on liver transplantation and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.
- Member of the Turkish Surgical Society and the Turkish Society of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery.
- Sees patients in Turkish and English.
Professor Acarli sees patients at Liv Hospital Ulus in Istanbul; an online consultation is available if needed. Patients note his deep clinical experience, calm and reassuring approach, and willingness to take on complex cases that other specialists declined.
Achievements and awards
About Doctor Koray Acarli
Professor Koray Acarli is one of Turkey’s most experienced liver transplant specialists, performing the full range of liver transplants for adults and children, including living-donor and deceased-donor transplantation. He provides transplant treatment for a wide range of end-stage liver diseases: cirrhosis of various etiologies, hepatocellular carcinoma, Budd–Chiari syndrome, biliary and metabolic diseases, as well as acute liver failure.
Specialization:
- Liver transplantation — in adults and children; from a living donor and from a deceased donor.
- Liver surgery — benign, malignant and metastatic liver tumors; hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Biliary tract surgery — cholangiocarcinoma, Klatskin tumors, benign and malignant obstructive diseases, bile duct strictures, stones.
- Gallbladder surgery — gallstone disease, gallbladder cancer.
- Pancreatic surgery — pancreatic cancer (including the Whipple procedure), benign tumors, pancreatitis.
- 1963–1967 — Kınalıada primary school, Istanbul.
- 1967–1975 — St. Georg Austrian private boys’ secondary school, Istanbul.
- 1976–1981 — Istanbul University, Faculty of Medicine — higher medical education, medical degree.
- 1982–1986 — Istanbul University, Department of General Surgery — residency, qualification as a surgeon.
- 1991–1992 — Mount Sinai Medical Center, Liver Transplantation Department, New York, USA — Research Fellowship.
- January–February 1995 — University of Hamburg, surgical clinic (Germany) — internship as a Visiting Surgeon.
- October 28, 1999 — awarded the academic title of Professor of General Surgery at Istanbul University.
- 1986–1988 — senior assistant, 2nd Surgical Department of Taksim Hospital, Ministry of Health, Istanbul.
- 1988–1991 — senior assistant, Department of Liver and Bile Duct Surgery, Istanbul University.
- 1991–1992 — Research Fellow, Liver Transplantation Department, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, USA.
- 1992–1993 — senior assistant, Department of Liver and Bile Duct Surgery, Istanbul University.
- 1993 — assistant associate professor, Department of Liver and Bile Duct Surgery, Istanbul University.
- 1993–1999 — associate professor, Department of General Surgery, Liver and Bile Duct Surgery unit, Istanbul University.
- 1999–2006 — professor, head of the Liver Transplantation Center, Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine.
- 2007–2012 — professor, deputy head of the Organ Transplantation Center, Memorial Şişli Hospital, Istanbul.
- 2012–2024 — professor, head of the Organ Transplantation Center, Memorial Şişli Hospital, Istanbul.
- Since January 2025 to the present — Professor of General Surgery, Liver and Pancreatic Surgery, private Liv Hospital Ulus, Istanbul.
Since 1993 he has been engaged in academic work at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine: as an associate professor from 1993 to 1999, and as a professor from 1999 to 2006. He taught general surgery, liver and bile duct surgery, pancreatic surgery, and liver transplantation to medical students, surgical residents, and surgeons undergoing advanced training in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.
Professor Acarli’s bibliography includes more than 60 scientific publications in international and national peer-reviewed journals, as well as dozens of presentations at major international congresses in the field of liver transplantation and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.
Main areas of scientific research:
- Liver transplantation in adults and children
- Living-donor liver transplantation
- Reperfusion syndrome and graft function after liver transplantation
- Immunosuppressive strategies in liver transplantation
- Surgery of hepatobiliary echinococcosis (including alveolar)
- Iatrogenic bile duct injuries
- Surgery of Budd–Chiari syndrome
- Pancreatic tumors and the Whipple procedure
- Klatskin tumors and cholangiocarcinoma
- Surgery of liver hemangiomas
- Postgraduate course on transplantation, New York University (USA).
- Postgraduate Course and 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD, Chicago, USA) — a presentation on the effect of flushing the allograft with portal blood on reperfusion syndrome and graft function (published in the journal Hepatology).
- Transplantation conference (Albany, USA, April–May 1992) — a study on immunosuppressive strategies for patients after liver transplantation with preoperative renal dysfunction.
- Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (Minneapolis, USA, April–May 1992) — presentations on elevated cytokine levels during graft reperfusion and on an experiment with N-acetylcysteine (poster presentation).
- XIV International Congress of the Transplantation Society (Paris, France, August 1992) — a presentation on liver transplantation in patients over 60 years of age (published in the journal Transplantation Proceedings, 1993).
- Turkish Surgical Society (TCD)
- Turkish Society of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery (THPBCD)
- International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS)
- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)
Liv Hospital Ulus is a flagship private multidisciplinary hospital in Istanbul, part of one of Turkey’s leading private healthcare networks (the MLPCare group). The clinic specializes in high-tech surgery, oncology, and organ transplantation.
The hospital is equipped with modern operating and intensive care units and provides a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of hepatobiliary and oncological diseases. It is staffed by a team of experienced surgeons, anesthesiologists, and rehabilitation specialists, which makes it possible to perform complex and high-risk interventions, including liver transplantation in adults and children.
