Neurosurgery
Prof. Dr. Dr. Mustafa Bozbuğa
Languages: Turkish
Areas of expertise
- Skull Base Surgery
- Neuro-Oncology (Tumour Surgery)
- Neurovascular Surgery (Aneurysm, AVM)
- Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery
About
Prof. Dr. Dr. Mustafa Bozbuğa combines three disciplines: he is a professor of neurosurgery, an anatomist and a philosopher. Within neurosurgery his particular expertise lies in neuro-oncological (tumour) surgery, cerebrovascular surgery on the blood vessels of the brain, skull base surgery and spinal surgery, and he works in these fields as both an academic and an author.
Education and training
His schooling began at Sultanahmet 44 Elementary School and continued at Vefa High School. A high ranking in the national university entrance examination (ÖSS) earned him a place at Istanbul University's Istanbul Faculty of Medicine (Çapa), where he qualified as a Doctor of Medicine in 1983, graduating with "Excellent" honours. His postgraduate path then took him through several leading centres:
- Residency in neurosurgery (brain and nervous system surgery) at the Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, 1985–1991.
- Microsurgery training in 1988 and 1989 at the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Zurich, working with Prof. Dr. M. Gazi Yaşargil in the clinic, the operating theatre and the microsurgery laboratory.
- An international fellowship in skull base surgery and microneurosurgery under Prof. Dr. L. N. Sekhar at the Department of Neurosurgery, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA (May 1993 – May 1994).
- A second international fellowship in skull base surgery and microneurosurgery under Prof. Dr. Akira Hakuba at the Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka City University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan (June 1994 – October 1994).
Academic and clinical career
On returning to Istanbul he continued his work there and became Associate Professor of Neurosurgery in 1999. Having passed the required examinations, he was appointed on 15 January 2001 as Founding Clinic Chief of the 2nd Brain and Neurosurgery Clinic at Kartal Training and Research Hospital. He led the clinic he had founded for nine years. Under his direction it carried a very heavy operative workload while performing surgery at the highest level, and it became a productive academic setting that generated publications and trained numerous specialists.
Because anatomy underpins both the theory and the practice of neurosurgery, Dr. Bozbuğa also undertook doctoral training in anatomy at the Department of Anatomy, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University (1998 – 17 September 2004), earning a PhD in the discipline. A professorship in the Department of Neurosurgery at Trakya University Faculty of Medicine was approved in July 2007; he took up the university chair in January 2008 and received the title Professor of Neurosurgery.
From 2012 to 2015 he directed the Center for Advanced Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurological Sciences at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital in Istanbul. Between 2015 and 2018 he chaired the Department of Neurosurgery at MedicalPark Gaziosmanpaşa Hospital. In February 2018 he became Founding Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at NPİSTANBUL Brain Hospital, part of the Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, a role he continues to hold.
Surgical focus
Although he performs the full spectrum of neurosurgical operations, his work concentrates on:
- Skull base surgery
- Neuro-oncology (tumour surgery)
- Neurovascular surgery on the brain's blood vessels, including aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations
- Spine and spinal cord surgery, including spinal cord tumours, vascular malformations, spinal stenosis and lumbar and cervical disc herniations
He keeps an extensive archive of the patients he has operated on in each of these areas.
Philosophy
Alongside medicine, Dr. Bozbuğa completed a university bachelor's degree in philosophy (2010–2014) and went on to earn a PhD in philosophy from Istanbul University's Department of Philosophy (2014–2021). His philosophical work centres mainly on the philosophy of medicine and the philosophy of humanity; he has written eight book chapters and given numerous lectures on these subjects.
Publications and memberships
Over his career he has written four books and 36 book chapters, published more than 200 international and national articles indexed in SCI, and given around 150 scientific presentations. He has taken part in many national and international professional congresses and scientific meetings. More than 900 studies in SCI-indexed international journals cite his work. He acts as associate editor, scientific board member and expert reviewer for numerous national and international journals. He belongs to many professional, scientific and social associations in Türkiye and abroad, and every year since 1997 he has been included in the biographical directory "Who's Who in the World".
Personal
Outside medicine and philosophy, his interests include music, theatre and cinema, literature, history and art history, painting and architecture. He is married, and his son, aged 26 (as of June 2021), is a mechatronics and computer engineer.
Biography written in June 2021 by Prof. Dr. Dr. Mustafa Bozbuğa.
Education
- Elementary School: Sultanahmet 44 Elementary School, Sultanahmet, Istanbul 1966–71
- Middle School: Mahmutpaşa Middle School, Cağaloğlu, Istanbul 1971–74
- High School: Vefa High School, Vefa, Istanbul 1974–77
- (In the University Entrance Student Selection and Placement Exam, he ranked among the top students out of approximately 500,000 and earned admission to Istanbul University’s Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.)
- MEDICAL SCHOOL
- Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Çapa, 1977–1983
- NEUROSURGERY RESIDENCY
- Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Çapa Residency in the Department of Neurosurgery (1985–1991)
- ASSOCIATE
- PROFESSORSHIP IN NEUROSURGERY (November 1999)
- DOCTORATE IN
- ANATOMY (PhD)
- Istanbul University, Institute of Health Sciences,
- Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy Completion
- of “PhD Program in Anatomy” (1998–2004)
- PROFESSORSHIP
- IN NEUROSURGERY August 20, 2007
- BACHELOR’S DEGREE
- IN PHILOSOPHY Anadolu University, Department of Philosophy (2010–2014)
- DOCTORATE
- IN PHILOSOPHY “Doctoral Program in Philosophy” at Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy (2014–May 3, 2021)
- STUDIES ABROAD
- “Clinical Training and Microneurosurgery Training” under Prof. Dr. M. Gazi Yaşargil at the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich (1988–1989)
- Fellowship program in “Skull Base Surgery” and “Microneurosurgery” under Prof. Dr. L. N. Sekhar
- at the Department of Neurosurgery, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA (May 1993 – May 1994)
- Fellowship program in “Skull Base Surgery” and “Microneurosurgery” under Prof. Dr. Akira Hakuba at the Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka City University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan (June 1994 – October 1994)
- ACADEMIC CAREER
- Awarded the title of “Medical Doctor”: (July 29, 1983)
- Awarded the title of “Neurosurgeon”: (October 24, 1991)
- Awarded the title of “Associate Professor of Neurosurgery”: November 24, 1999
- Awarded the title of “Doctor of Anatomy/PhD”: September 17, 2004
- (Istanbul University, Institute of Health Sciences, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy)
- Appointment as “Professor of Neurosurgery”: August 2007
- Awarded the title of “Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)”: May 3, 2021
- (Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy)
- After his portfolio of scientific publications was approved by the committee following the foreign language and scientific examination, he passed the exam he took on January 15, 2001, and was appointed as Chief of the 2nd Neurosurgery Clinic at Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Training and Research Hospital to establish the clinic. He held this position for nine years, until October 2009.
- With the approval of the Ministry of Health, he was appointed acting head of the 1st Neurosurgery Clinic at the same hospital in October 2006.
- Approval of the “Professor of Neurosurgery” position: August 20, 2007 (Department of Neurosurgery, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine)
- “Professor” position at Üsküdar University, Department of Neurosurgery/Brain and Nervous System Surgery at NPİSTANBUL Brain Hospital: February 2018
- Founding Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Üsküdar University: February 2019
Conditions treated
Treatments and technology
- Procedure Neuronavigation-guided surgery Surgery guided by real-time 3D imaging to reach the target precisely and protect healthy brain tissue.