Ali Çiftçi only wanted to defend his home on his birthday.
A thief had entered his home in İstanbul, and in the struggle, they both fell through the window of a third-floor apartment. Ali landed underneath, cushioning the impact with his own body: the thief got up and escaped without a scratch, and was never identified. He, on the other hand, was left with 83% of his skull’s volume destroyed.
The doctors at Gülhane Hospital gave him barely a 10% chance of surviving. He spent months in intensive care, lost his balance, his memory, part of his vision, and even the ability to speak clearly. For almost two years, he had to wear a hat to hide his head and prevent infections, while enduring mockery over his appearance.
Prof. Dr. Özkan Tehli and his team designed custom titanium pieces, manufactured using special software, to reconstruct his skull piece by piece. Today, Ali Çiftçi, a father of two, looks as he did before: his symptoms improved by 90%, and he regained the face he thought he had lost forever.