ACTIVE MEMBER
Born in 1939, Turkey. Prof. Dr. Onur Erol completed his high school education at St. Joseph French High School in Istanbul. After graduating from Istanbul University, Faculty of Medicine in 1965, he continued his training in General Surgery at Hacettepe University in Ankara. Upon completion of this program, he became a board-certified general surgeon in 1969 and a board-certified plastic surgeon in 1971.
In 1974, Dr Erol received the title of Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Hacettepe University. The thesis for his associate professorship received an Honor Award in the Junior Classification of the ASPRS International Essay Contest in 1975. This experimental and clinical investigation was considered as a pioneer of “prefabricated flap” and became a new and innovative concept in the field of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Receiving a research scholarship award from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) in 1976, Dr. Erol went to USA and worked as a fellow consecutively in Eastern Virginia Medical School, University of Miami School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine between the years 1976 and 1980. In 1978, Dr. Erol received the title of Assistant Professor and appointed chief of Microsurgery and Research Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, where he completed 21 different funded research projects until he resigned in 1980. He received numerous awards for his works at Baylor including an American Cancer Society GRANT Award and two NIH Grant Awards. His study on “Prefabricated Composite Flap” was also awarded First Place in the Senior Classification Essay Contest of ASPRS in 1978.
In 1980, Dr. Erol returned to Turkey and became a Professor of Plastic Surgery at Hacettepe University Medical School. The following year, he won the Health Sciences Award of the Sedat Simavi Foundation. While Dr. Erol continues his private practice since 1981, once he moved his practice from Ankara to Istanbul in 1989, he continued his academic work as a visiting Professor at Akdeniz University Plastic Surgery Department and Marmara University Dental School. The same year, he was also appointed Chief of the Plastic Surgery Department at American Hospital. Since 1999, he is the Head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at Bilim University.
Despite his busy private practice, as an invited speaker, Dr. Erol presents at educational courses and congresses all around the world at least 8 times a year. As an invited plastic surgeon, he also performed many live surgeries with his “Turkish Delight” technique at major international meetings that took place mainly in Brazil, Russia and Belgium.
Dr. Erol is a member of 13 International Societies and served as president of the Millard Society and Turkish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery.His credentials include the development of 28 novel techniques in plastic surgery. He has published 109 academic papers, his publications have been cited more than 650 times and he has given 383 presentations at national and international meetings.
In addition to his scientific contributions, Dr Erol is also actively involved in the practical training of young plastic surgeons following their residencies. He has educated over 30 young plastic surgeons thru a 6-month fellowship program while personally arranged for some, a short-term work possibility at funded research programs abroad. His utmost motive in these trainings and his efforts is to create more qualified plastic surgeons and to encourage plastic surgeons to become more science-oriented.
On 2007, Dr. Erol awarded as “The Maliniac Lecturer”, unanimously selected by the Maliniac Lecturer selection Comitee of ASPS-PSEF.
Professor Erol and his wife Sevinç, a board-certified pediatrician, are founders of “Relief for Plastic Surgery Disabled Patients Foundation”, a national charity for surgeries of congenital malformation.
Dr. Erol and his wife live in Istanbul, Turkey. They have two children, Berna and Burak, who are both in health care management business.