About Dr Enis Gürsel

From Bursa to Ankara, and back to Bursa

I was born in Bursa in 1982 and went to school here, from primary school to the end of secondary school. In 2001 I started at Hacettepe University's English-language Faculty of Medicine in Ankara, and I graduated in 2007.

After graduating I came back to my home city. I worked for a year as a research assistant in the Department of Pharmacology at Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine. In 2009 I began my specialist training in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the same faculty.

My specialist training

During my training I worked in each area of orthopaedics in turn. This meant I could learn from teachers who had spent many years in each field.

In 2015 I qualified as a Specialist in Orthopaedics and Traumatology. The most valuable thing those years gave me is the habit of looking at a patient from the whole of orthopaedics, not from one angle only. My training covered:

• Trauma (fractures and injuries)
• Joint replacement
• Sports surgery
• Hand surgery
• Spine surgery
• Children's orthopaedics

Three years in Osmancık

After my specialist training I completed my compulsory public service at Osmancık State Hospital in Çorum. For three years I was the orthopaedic doctor of the district. I saw everyone who came through the door, from fractures to osteoarthritis and from children to older people.

This time taught me to make decisions quickly, but above all it taught me to listen to the patient. I saw that every person's problem is different and that you cannot treat every patient with the same prescription.

Medicana years and my own clinic

In 2017 I returned to Bursa and worked at Bursa Medicana Hospital from its opening until 2022. In those years keyhole surgery (arthroscopy), joint replacement and fracture surgery were an important part of my daily work.

In 2022 I opened my own clinic together with a physiotherapy unit. My aim was to follow each patient with the same team, from the first consultation to surgery, and from surgery back to sport and daily life.

How I think about surgery and non-surgical treatment

Over the years I have seen that non-surgical treatment matters as much as surgery in the recovery from an orthopaedic problem. For some patients, a well-placed injection, a well-planned physiotherapy programme or pain treatment can be a far more useful path than medicines alone.

For other patients it is not right to delay surgery. That is why I decide the way forward for each person after examining them, and if surgery is needed, I plan it without delay.

I also believe that even the right operation needs good physiotherapy to be worthwhile. The work I do in the operating theatre is half of the journey. We walk the other half together, with you and our physiotherapist.

How do I work today?

At my clinic I give all injections under ultrasound guidance. This means I watch on the screen where the needle is going. For joint pain I also use radiofrequency treatment, which uses heat to quieten the nerves that carry pain signals.

I follow patients after surgery together with our physiotherapist, Gökçenaz Arpaçay. For athletes and for patients who want to return to sport, we also track progress with strength and movement tests at OrtoSporLab, a separate testing and consulting centre.

Consultations are available in English. My full title in Türkiye is Op. Dr. Enis Gürsel. Op. Dr. is the Turkish title for a surgeon who has completed specialist surgical training.

Professional membership

I am a member of the Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (TOTBİD). Meeting colleagues at scientific meetings and following new research are an essential part of my work.

Career in brief