There are 12 cranial nerves in the body. Some esoteric textbooks of medicine mention 13, while someone who wanted a nerve named after himself added one extra to make it 14. But in the real world, we’ll stick to 12.
Twelve, a number woven into the fabric of sacred stories and celestial charts, often symbolizes completeness or cosmic order. We have the 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 zodiac signs, and 12 months in the year. But even here, some people refute this by stating that there is an additional zodiac or that the original calendar had 13 months. Unfortunately, there are no direct descendants of the apostles who can fight for one more. So, once again, let’s stick to 12.
“I can’t smell anything,” Raj, a 55-year-old man, once came to me. His wife, sitting next to him, was dejected because he kept grumbling about how the taste of her food had changed. He had a perfectly round head with a significantly larger but perfectly round torso. “My physician asked me to get an MRI and see you because he felt something was amiss,” Raj told me, handing me the films.
I plugged the MRI films in the X-ray box and was amused to see a perfectly round tumour inside his head, nearly the size of a cricket ball. I was amused not because I didn’t have empathy for my patient but because the image of a round tumour, inside a round head, within a round body, reminded me of the Russian nesting dolls. I was also at peace because I knew for sure that this was not malignant.
“You can’t smell because this tumour is pushing down on your olfactory nerve,” I showed him, running my pointer around it. “The olfactory nerve is the first of the 12 cranial nerves,” I explained, “and it plays a significant role in our perception of taste, as many of the subtle nuances in flavour are actually due to the aroma of food. So, don’t blame your wife for the problem!” I said smiling, getting some brownie points from her.
I told him I was impressed that his doctor had picked it up, because many brush aside a problem with smell as nothing. “You may have a cough or a cold, or some allergy,” is what some of my patients who complained of not smelling well were told before I ordered an MRI and found what Raj had: an olfactory groove meningioma, a tumour arising from the base of the skull where the olfactory nerves from the nose traverse the brain. In his case, the tumour was compressing the nerve badly, not allowing the transmission of any sensory function.
“We’ll fix it with a small operation,” I explained to them, talking about all the risks and benefits of an operation of this nature. “We don’t need to open up the entire head, like we did in the past; we’ll make a small incision in the eyebrow, get into the head, and remove it,” I drew some diagrams on the model of a skull I have in my office. They fixed a date for surgery with me. I always wonder how patients agree to an operation even when you explain that there is a small chance that they could lose their life from it.
Two weeks later, we made an incision just above Raj’s right eyebrow and removed a square piece of bone behind it. I gobbled up the tumour with an ultrasonic aspirator until the cricket ball became the size of a golf ball and then a pea. Finally, I peeled off the last portion of the flattened and displaced olfactory nerve with the hope that he’d smell again.
When he returned three months later for a routine check, the size of his torso had increased. I pointed at it, asking for the reason behind the prosperity. “The food now smells and tastes so good, what can I do!” he beamed.
21 thoughts on “The first nerve”
Wow what a finding by you Dr
Well Doc,
You surely were hand in glove behind his prosperity, not to mention the brownie points you collected.
Made it sound such a simple case anyone would come running to you-with or without a tumour-to make food taste better…….. just masti….
You make a brain surgery sound so easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Awesome deduction doc
Simple and clear and that slight humour.
Well done Maz, as always.
Proud of you.
Love to read all your blogs…especially the positive ones like this one! Bless you Doctor Mazda!
Amazing !
Doc.I too believe in you ,and trust you. Tjankyou for being there for me everytime. God Bless You and your efficient team.
सर आपने कमाल कर दिया सबसे पहले तो उसका भ्रम टूटा की भोजन में स्वाद नहीं है। और उसकी पत्नी का भी भ्रम टूटा क्या वह स्वादिष्ट भोजन नहीं बनाती है। अपने न केवल उसके ट्यूमर पर प्रहार किया है जबकि आपने तो हिंदी कैसे मुहावरे पर को भी ठीक कर दिया जो कहता है “घर की मुर्गी दाल बराबर” हर भोजन में स्वाद है यदि आपकी ऑल फैक्ट्री तांत्रिक सही काम करती है। not always all 12 zodiac signs favours good. Sir you proved even sometimes one of your 12 cranial nerve Un favours you.
Remedies stay in the hand of a neurosurgeon like you.
God bless you with HIS healing powers flow through you!
Very interesting article. Amazing how we live our lives without realising the changes that are happening within us. This man was lucky he went to a brilliant surgeon.
Brilliantly executed as usual and saving lives is the most satisfying thing in this world. Unbelievable how life can change in so many different ways. You make it sound like it’s no rocket science!! So easy and simple. God bless you going forward.
You are great Dr Mazda 👍
The flow of the narrative, always keeps one engrossed, the humour and punch lines, always brings a smile, the story each time, always an original. Good job Dr mazda
Hi Mazda,
This piece of yours qualifies in my books as a brilliantly written light read
As Hutoxi puts it “easy peasy lemon squeezy”. I read it like a waft of fresh air. CARRY ON THE GOOD WORK MY DEAR WITH THE SCALPEL N THE PEN.
Doc your flow of language is literally poetry in motion! Subtle humour interspersed with the most complicated surgery is outstanding.
The complications of the surgery you do is nicely explained even to a lay men. That is the best skill any surgeon can have and you have it no doubt about it. Congratulations bhai once again.
Dr. Mazda, your ability to blend medical expertise with engaging storytelling is truly remarkable. This narrative highlights not only your skill as a surgeon but also your empathetic approach to patient care.
God Bless You.
You r great Dr. Mazda.
An amazing blend of the power of scalpel n the pen!
Round .. rounder…. Now imagine the next !
Happy b the patient n his wife!
So nice 😊 Dr Mazda !! Very interesting 😊😊
HIE MAZDA, I AM AN ARDENT FAN OF YOUR ARTICLES…I THOROUGHLY ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE..MK SURE I DONT MISS A SINGLE ONE… KEEP ON POSTING THEM..HUTU DOODHWALLA SENDS ME YOUR ARTICLES UNFAILINGLY….WARM REGARDS..HUTOXI DARA PANTHAKI