Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
See how prolapse and urinary incontinence are assessed, investigated with urodynamics and, where surgery is chosen, managed in theatre, within the gynaecological surgery department of a university teaching and research hospital in Istanbul.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Urogynaecology treats symptoms rather than anatomy alone. A prolapse seen on examination may need no treatment if it causes no bother, while the same degree of descent can be disabling for another woman. Assessment therefore pairs examination and a staging system such as POP-Q with a structured account of bladder, bowel and sexual symptoms and their effect on daily life. Conservative options — supervised pelvic floor muscle exercises, lifestyle measures and vaginal pessaries — are usually discussed first. Observers can follow how this conversation is held, and why surgery is sometimes deferred rather than offered.
For urinary incontinence, the type matters. Stress, urgency and mixed incontinence are managed differently: urgency is treated first with behavioural measures and medication, with further options if these fail, whereas surgery is considered for stress incontinence that persists after conservative treatment. Urodynamic studies are used when the diagnosis is unclear, when symptoms are mixed or when previous surgery has failed, so that the operation offered matches the problem. In clinic and during urodynamic sessions, observers can follow how filling and voiding findings change the plan.
Consent carries particular weight in this field. The regulatory position on vaginal mesh differs between countries, and good practice in counselling for continence and prolapse surgery sets out mesh and non-mesh options, their recognised complications and the evidence behind them. After surgery, the ward round checks bladder emptying once the catheter is removed, and follow-up asks whether symptoms have improved rather than only whether anatomy has been restored. Aesthetic or regenerative gynaecology, such as cosmetic labial surgery or energy-based vaginal treatments, is outside this focus, which concerns functional pelvic floor care.
Rather than the excision of disease covered on the Endometriosis Surgery page, this page concentrates on functional pelvic floor care — prolapse, continence and urodynamics — within the department the gynaecological surgery page describes. Male and wider functional urology belong to the urology route, and robotic urological surgery has its own Robotic Urology page.
Suits clinical-year students and graduate physicians preparing for obstetrics and gynaecology or urology who want to see how symptom-led assessment and urodynamics shape pelvic floor decisions.
Obstetrician-gynaecologists, and urologists where the department judges the fit, who state urogynaecology as their interest within the gynaecological surgery department and want to follow patients from assessment to post-operative review over 12–24 months.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Urogynaecology & Pelvic Floor as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Gynaecological Surgery department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
