Alaaddin Yilmaz

Turkish heart surgeon

Alaaddin Yilmaz (1970 – 9 November 2024) was a Turkish heart surgeon at the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt, Belgium.

Alaaddin Yilmaz
Born1970 (1970)
Emirdağ, Turkey
Died (aged 54)
NationalityTurkish
Occupationheart surgeon

Biography

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Yilmaz was born in Emirdağ in 1970. He moved to Ghent, Belgium to study medicine where he graduated in the 1990s. Later he specialized to become a heart surgeon at the St. Antonius hospital [nl] in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. Since 2015 he worked at the heart center of the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt, Belgium.[1][2] Yilmaz is credited with multiple world firsts, including replacing an aortic valve, without sawing open the sternum, but via a keyhole surgery.[2][3]

He was invited by the Sheikh of Dubai in 2017 for his expertise.[3]

In 2022, he was a doctor in the Belgian television series Topdokters [nl].[3]

Yilmaz died on 9 November 2024, at the age of 54 from pancreatic cancer.[4][5] He was buried in Turkey on 10 November 2024.[6]

After his death his brother Sedat Yilmaz stated that Alaaddin Yilmaz had in the last year of his life a heavy, never resolved, conflict with Jessa Hospital. Jessa Hospital confirmed there was a main conflict regarding the physical condition of Yilmaz. While Yilmaz had another opinion, he was prohibited to continue carrying out surgeries. The family didn’t accept anything from the hospital and condolences were requested to be sent to his private secretary.[7][6]

References

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  1. "Dankzij pionierswerk van Yilmaz zijn patiënten na hartoperatie weer sneller op de been". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 10 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Hartchirurg Yilmaz leerde het vak in ons land: 'Hij redde duizenden mensen, maar niemand kon hem helpen'". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 10 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mensenrechtenactivist Stanley Rensch op 84-jarige leeftijd overleden". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 9 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  4. ""Hij sprong midden in de nacht uit zijn bed om het leven van mijn man te redden": talloze Vlamingen zijn overleden dokter Yilmaz eeuwig dankbaar, ook deze HLN-lezers". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  5. "Topdokter die duizenden levens redde zelf overleden aan pancreaskanker: "Gestorven met het mes in de hand"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Broer overleden hartchirurg Alaaddin Yilmaz: "Zijn laatste jaar werd getekend door een heftig conflict met het Jessa Ziekenhuis"" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  7. "Broer van overleden topdokter Alaaddin Yilmaz: "Laatste jaar getekend door heftig conflict met Jessa Ziekenhuis"" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.