Op. MD. Mustafa Nehir Barut

A 68-year-old retired watchmaker with essential tremor so severe he could no longer feed himself declined deep brain stimulation due to claustrophobia. Dr. Barut pioneered a modified awake surgery using his own miniature watchmaking loupes for visualization, performing a precise thalamotomy with the patient listening to classical music through open-ear headphones, successfully restoring his ability to perform delicate repairs within weeks.

A 42-year-old Syrian refugee and former architect, working construction in Gebze, suffered a traumatic skull base fracture with CSF leak. With limited insurance, Dr. Barut utilized 3D-printed models from recycled hospital plastics to plan an endoscopic endonasal repair, collaborating with the patient's architectural knowledge to visualize the approach. The patient recovered fully and now assists in creating surgical models for others.

A 9-year-old boy from a Romani community presented with progressive cervical dystonia. Traditional diagnostics were hindered by cultural barriers and movement during scans. Dr. Barut developed a motion-tolerant MRI protocol using sequences aligned with the boy's spontaneous musical rhythm patterns, discovering a rare cervicomedullary junction anomaly. Customized posterior fossa decompression restored normal movement within months.

A 31-year-old pregnant woman (28 weeks) developed a rapidly growing meningioma with visual symptoms. Dr. Barut coordinated with obstetrics for fetal monitoring during a meticulously timed second-trimester craniotomy, using intraoperative ultrasound to avoid uterine stimulation. Both mother and baby recovered well, with the tumor fully resected and delivery occurring at term without complications.

A 17-year-old female competitive freediver from the Black Sea coast presented with transient neurological deficits after deep dives. Dr. Barut discovered a rare patent foramen ovale allowing paradoxical air embolism. Instead of immediate closure, he coordinated with a hyperbaric medicine team for a novel staged treatment: pre-dive targeted oxygen therapy and post-dive monitoring protocols, allowing her to continue her sport safely while planning elective intervention after competition season.