Prof. Sukru Dilege
5
reviews
14/01/2021
01/12/2018
05/05/2017
05/01/2013
09/03/2011
Professor Sukru Dilege is a thoracic surgeon, one of the most renowned Turkish specialists in lung cancer surgery.
He graduated from Istanbul University Medical School in 1985, became an associate professor in 1996, and in 2000, together with Professor Göksel Kalaycı, he established a separate Department of Thoracic Surgery at Istanbul University Medical School.
In 2004, he became a full professor.
Since 2004/2005, he has been heading the Department of Thoracic Surgery at VKV American Hospital in Istanbul. Since 2011 he has been a professor at Koç University School of Medicine, where he has also held administrative positions since 2017: Associate Dean → Acting Dean → Dean (from September 2018 to December 31, 2024).
In 2015, he was appointed Chief Physician and Medical Director of Koç University Hospital. Professor Dilege is the author of dozens of publications (over 1,390 citations on Google Scholar), particularly in the fields of lung cancer, thymomas, and surgical staging of NSCLC.
Achievements and awards
About Dr. Sukru Dilege
Thoracic surgery.
Specific areas of focus:
- lung cancer surgery (early and locally advanced),
- surgical staging of NSCLC
- resections for pulmonary metastases,
- thymomas and thymic carcinomas,
- thoracoscopy (VATS),
- surgery for myasthenia gravis.
- 1985 — Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, medical degree.
- 1985–1990 — residency in general surgery, Istanbul University.
- 1996 — received the title of Associate Professor of Surgery, Istanbul University.
- 2004 — received the title of Professor of Thoracic Surgery, Istanbul University.
- 1990–1996 — general surgeon, Istanbul University
- 1996–2000 — instructor at the Department of General Surgery, Istanbul University
- 2000 — co-founder of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University
- 2004 — present — Professor and Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at VKV American Hospital (Istanbul)
- 2015 — present — Chief Physician and Medical Director of Koç University Hospital
- 2017 — Associate Dean of the Koç University School of Medicine; January–September 2018 — Acting Dean
- 01.09.2018 – 31.12.2024 — Dean of the Koç University School of Medicine
The doctor’s scientific works have been cited more than 1,390 times in international medical research (Google Scholar).
Author and co-author of publications in international peer-reviewed medical journals on the treatment of lung cancer, thymic tumors, pulmonary metastases, and minimally invasive thoracic surgery.
In 2022, he participated in the preparation of the Turkish Oncology Group’s national study “Lung Cancer in Turkey,” published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
- Turkish Society of Lung Cancer
- European and Turkish professional associations of thoracic surgery
Koç University Hospital, opened in 2014, is the academic hospital of the Vehbi Koç Foundation, which became VKF’s third major project after American Hospital and Koç University. The hospital operates in close cooperation with Koç University School of Medicine — one of Turkey’s leading English-language medical schools.
For thoracic patients, the following points are important: a dedicated department of thoracic surgery and a department of pulmonology working together within a single multidisciplinary oncology council with medical and radiation oncologists; access to modern imaging methods (CT, MRI, PET-CT) and endoscopic diagnostics (bronchoscopy, EBUS), which is critical for lung cancer staging; the availability of a Varian Trilogy® System linear accelerator; integration with the MD Anderson Radiation Treatment Center at American Hospital — a patient can receive surgery from Professor Dilege and radiation therapy from Professor Selek while remaining within a single clinical network.
