Gynecology & Women's Diseases

Şişli Fulya, Istanbul · Gynecology

Gynecology is the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of diseases of a woman's reproductive organs. At SoftCare Clinic, this page is not a check-up menu or an aesthetics catalog. It exists to sort out which organ, which stage of life, and which test a complaint belongs to.

A woman rarely searches for "gynecology" by name. She searches because her period is late, spotting won't stop, there was bleeding after intercourse, there's a heaviness in the groin, or the discharge smells. All of these sentences walk through the same clinic door; none of them are the same file. This page's job is to sort the complaint at the door without confusing it with a disease name.

The physician is Op. Dr. Şükrü Sanus. His specialty is obstetrics and gynecology. The clinic is in Şişli Fulya. Until 2013 it stood in the same neighborhood under the name Şişli Med. The title changed; the examination being done with a speculum, an ultrasound, and a record did not.

What this page covers, and what it doesn't

What is covered is the idea of gynecological disease: bleeding patterns, infection, cyst and fibroid monitoring, cervical screening, pelvic pain, perimenopause. What is not covered is the detail of pregnancy-week calculation, the line items that set an abortion's price, the types of hymen repair, or a labiaplasty plan. Each of these has its own page. Here we only underline this: those procedures also sit in the gynecologist's room, but the subject of this text is disease and examination.

How the gynecological examination proceeds

The first step is not a form but a history. The first day of the last period, how many days the bleeding lasted, how often pads are changed, whether the pain follows the cycle, spotting after intercourse, whether discharge causes odor or itching, previous Pap and HPV results, the contraceptive method used, and any past surgery are all asked. This list is not rote memorization. It is the first filter that separates bleeding from a fibroid, discharge from a flora imbalance, and pain from a cyst.

The second step is the speculum and manual examination. The speculum shows the cervix; the manual exam tells the size, tenderness, and whether there is a mass in the uterus and ovaries. The third step, if the complaint warrants it, is a transvaginal ultrasound. An ultrasound is not "a screening for whoever walks through the door." It has a place in irregular bleeding, suspected mass, pelvic pain, and a delayed period. A Pap smear and HPV test can be part of the exam; they are not a mandatory line item for every visit. Padding the panel without an indication is not gynecology.

Once the exam is over, a plan is written. Monitoring, medication, biopsy, colposcopy, or surgery are separate sentences. A file closed with "let's take a look" comes back with the same complaint the following month.

What boutique healthcare means in gynecology

Boutique doesn't mean soft lighting. In gynecology, boutique means the woman's history has been taken before the speculum. An exam that finishes in three minutes in a crowded clinic sees the cyst; it doesn't sort out the cause of the bleeding. At SoftCare, there is no ticket number system. This doesn't mean every complaint goes to surgery the same day. It means what will be asked is decided before the speculum is inserted.

Hygiene and sterility

In a gynecological exam, hygiene isn't a corridor smell. It is the speculum belonging to a single patient, the ultrasound probe being sheathed, and the change of gloves after the speculum being logged. A woman coming with an infection complaint is never examined with the previous patient's set. Sterility isn't a word reserved for the operating room; it is also the rule of the exam table.

Patient comfort

Comfort is not a promise of no pain. A gynecological exam involves a cold speculum and an intimate position. Comfort means being told in advance why this is being done, no unnecessary person standing in the room, and the woman never being shown out without a chance to ask questions. Pain threshold varies from person to person. The phrase "a painless process" does not cover every speculum. What it covers is an unprepared, unexplained exam.

A patient-centered approach

The classic hospital route is a counter, a second counter, and an uncertain wait. A gynecology complaint gets lost on that route; the woman forgets her actual sentence while wondering "which form goes where." At SoftCare, the file moves through a single room from the moment you walk in. The nurse handles welcoming and preparation; diagnosis and the plan belong to the physician. A dedicated nurse doesn't replace the physician. What she does provide is that the woman is never left alone and confused before the speculum.

Abnormal uterine bleeding

Bleeding is the most common door into the gynecology clinic. If your period comes more often than every 21 days or less often than every 35 days, if a pad fills up within two hours, if clots are large, if bleeding lasts more than 8–9 days, if there is spotting between periods, or if blood appears after intercourse — this is not "a period you just manage." Pregnancy is ruled out first. Then ultrasound looks at the uterine cavity, fibroids, and endometrial thickness. A Pap smear, and a biopsy if needed, are added according to age and history.

Irregularity is common in young women; not every irregularity means polycystic ovaries. Closing the same picture as "stress" after age forty is also not gynecology. A single drop of blood after menopause is not a complaint to postpone. This distinction doesn't sit as a line in a service list; it's made in the room.

Discharge, itching, odor: infection or flora?

Some vaginal discharge is physiological. When itching, burning, a fishy smell, a green-yellow color, pain during intercourse, or a stinging sensation while urinating are added, flora imbalance, bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, or a sexually transmitted infection all pile up at the same door. Treatment doesn't start with a single suppository ordered online. Prescribing "a yeast infection" without a speculum exam, culture when needed, and a partner history brings the same itching back three weeks later.

Prescribing a cream alone isn't enough for recurrent candidiasis. Diabetes, antibiotic use, and clothing habits are asked about. Bacterial vaginosis often sits behind odorous discharge; mistaking this picture for a urinary tract infection is also common. If a sexually transmitted infection is suspected, screening is discussed. What is never discussed is embarrassing a woman into postponing the speculum exam.

Pelvic pain and menstrual pain

Groin pain is gynecology's slipperiest ground. Pain that comes with the cycle and peaks in the first days is often primary dysmenorrhea. Pain that is new, progressively worsening, radiating during intercourse, or present outside of menstruation too may point to endometriosis, adenomyosis, a ruptured cyst, pelvic infection, or surgical adhesions. Ultrasound doesn't show every cause. Some endometriosis appears as a cyst on the screen; some can only be suspected through history and examination.

Sudden, severe, one-sided pain, fainting, or pain radiating to the shoulder needs urgent attention. Closing this picture with "it's period pain, wait it out at home" is a gynecology mistake. SoftCare is not an emergency room. But recognizing an urgent picture and directing it forward is the gynecologist's job.

Ovarian cysts, fibroids, polycystic ovaries

Seeing a cyst on ultrasound is not a decision for surgery. Most simple cysts seen during the menstrual cycle are functional; they shrink by the next cycle. A cyst exceeding five centimeters, containing a solid area, showing growth, or carrying pain and a suspicious marker is monitored separately. The sentence "there's a cyst, let's remove it" is never built without naming the type of cyst first.

A fibroid is a benign smooth-muscle tumor of the uterus. Treatment is discussed if it causes bleeding, causes urinary or bowel pressure symptoms, or if its growth rate is concerning. A small, asymptomatic fibroid is a matter of monitoring in most files. Polycystic ovary syndrome, meanwhile, is not just the "string of pearls" seen on ultrasound. Menstrual irregularity, signs of excess androgen, and a metabolic background sit together. A label of "PCOS was written down" on its own solves neither the bleeding nor the weight pattern.

Cervix: Pap smear, HPV, and "sores"

A "sore" on the cervix circulates often in casual conversation. Ectropion and a Nabothian cyst are usually not disease. The real disease is a precancerous change left outside of screening. This is why the Pap smear and HPV test are the backbone of the gynecology page. The test is not a cancer diagnosis. An abnormal result calls for colposcopy and, if needed, a biopsy. A normal result does not mean "don't come back"; the interval is set according to age and previous results.

Some HPV types cause warts; some change the screening result. Burning off a wart and forgetting the screening is exactly the practice this page criticizes. The vaccine conversation belongs with younger women and files that are not yet fully immunized. The details of the vaccine schedule live on the HPV page; the sentence that stands here is this: treating a lesion does not cancel out screening.

Perimenopause and menopause

Toward the end of the forties, the interval between periods widens, vascular patterns change, and hot flashes and sleep can be disrupted. Closing this period with "gynecology is over now" is wrong. On the contrary, an organic cause for irregular bleeding is looked for more often at this age. Bleeding after menopause is a separate door. Bone, heart, and vaginal dryness are discussed; hormones are not prescribed for every complaint. Hormone therapy is decided only after indication and contraindication are discussed.

What technology is for in gynecology

A device doesn't replace the exam. Transvaginal ultrasound measures a cyst, shows the endometrium, and rules out pregnancy. Colposcopy magnifies the cervix when there is a Pap smear abnormality. These aren't a "latest technology" poster. They earn their place exactly where the speculum falls short. The claim of a "painless process" follows the same logic: local anesthesia or sedation is discussed for a surgical procedure; not every clinic speculum exam requires general anesthesia.

When to come in

• Your period has stopped for more than two months and a pregnancy test is uncertain.
• Pads fill up within two hours, or clots are large.
• Bleeding after intercourse keeps recurring.
• Discharge has caused odor, itching, or burning, and lasted more than three days with an over-the-counter product.
• Groin pain is sudden, one-sided, and severe — this picture shouldn't wait.
• A Pap smear or HPV result came back "not normal" and you haven't yet seen a physician.
• There was a single spot of bleeding after menopause.

The routine screening interval applies to women without complaints too. Having no complaints doesn't mean the cervix won't be checked.

Frequently asked questions

Quick summary

SoftCare Clinic stands for gynecology and women's diseases in Şişli Fulya. This page is built on history before the speculum, ultrasound where indicated, keeping the Pap smear and HPV test as screening, and not cutting into every cyst or fibroid seen on imaging. The physician is Op. Dr. Şükrü Sanus. The service directory is reached from the Women's Health page; pregnancy monitoring and genital procedures each have their own URLs.

This text is for general information purposes; it does not replace diagnosis or treatment. Medical director: Op. Dr. Şükrü Sanus.

Medically reviewed by Op. Dr. Şükrü Sanus, Obstetrician & Gynecologist · Last medical review: 2 October 2026