Prof. M.D. Dilaver Kaya

A 72-year-old retired ship captain from a coastal village presented with sudden-onset prosopagnosia (face blindness) after a minor fall. Dr. Kaya discovered a rare, non-hemorrhagic contusion in the right fusiform gyrus. The patient, who had navigated by recognizing faces his whole life, was devastated. Treatment involved a novel cognitive rehabilitation protocol using ship navigation metaphors. After 8 months, he regained 70% recognition ability for family, though he still struggles with new acquaintances.

A 19-year-old elite e-sports athlete developed debilitating focal hand dystonia during competitions—his mouse hand would cramp into a claw. Extensive testing revealed no structural damage. Dr. Kaya diagnosed 'digital task-specific dystonia,' a modern variant of writer's cramp. Treatment combined low-dose anticholinergics with a radical retraining protocol using a trackball instead of a mouse. The player returned to competition at 90% capacity after 5 months but had to switch game genres.

A 34-year-old migrant construction worker from Central Asia presented with episodes where he'd suddenly speak in what sounded like a forgotten childhood dialect. Video EEG monitoring captured a left temporal lobe seizure focus. Dr. Kaya identified this as 'transient epileptic xenoglossy'—seizures activating dormant language pathways. Treatment with levetiracetam controlled the seizures but left the patient grieving the loss of this reconnection to his early childhood language.

A 58-year-old master perfumer began smelling 'phantom scents' of burning roses and ozone. Neurological workup revealed a tiny meningioma pressing on the right olfactory bulb. Dr. Kaya recommended Gamma Knife radiosurgery rather than resection to preserve her professional olfactory function. The treatment successfully shrank the tumor, but she now experiences 'flavor ghosts' where certain notes in her creations taste different to her than to others.