Our sense of smell heightens our quality of life as it allows us to delight in the aromas of our favorite foods or fragrance of certain things. It also acts as a warning system, alerting us to danger signals such as a gas leak, spoiled food or a fire.

Since birth, Mr Al Dehba Suhail Saleh Mohammed did not have a sense of smell. Nobody knew about this as the 19-year-old United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizen kept this to himself.

“I was embarrassed,” Mr Al Dehba admitted. “ I would come up with what was deem an appropriate answer even when someone asked me whether something smelled good or bad. I never told anyone that I am not able to smell anything.”

“My nose was also constantly blocked. I saw a doctor back home before but nothing much was done. The oral medications prescribed didn’t work for me.”

Mr Al Dehba has almost given up hope on seeking relief from his condition. The turning point came for the youth when he accompanied his father to Singapore for treatment.

“My brother, Harbi, found that Singapore’s healthcare system is very good. He decided to bring my dad to Raffles Hospital for treatment. I accompanied them and saw how good the doctors here are,” said Mr Al Dehba.

Sensing that this might be his chance to seek treatment and gain his sense of smell, he came clean with his parents and brother that he was never able to smell anything. His admission came as a shock to his family and they promptly sought the help of an Arabic-speaking staff to make an appointment with a suitable doctor for Mr Al Dehba. This Raffles Hospital staff has been helping Mr Al Dehba’s father to make his appointments with the various specialists at the Raffles Hospital.

Within the same week, an appointment with Dr Aw Chong Yin, a specialist in ENT Surgery, was made for Mr Al Dehba. He was asked to do a CT sinus which revealed that he had bilateral maxillary sinusitis with gross deviated septum at the right side of his nose.

“Mr Al Dehba has sinusitis. His inability to smell was due to this. His nasal septum was also crooked. Therefore, I proceeded to do a septoplasty and a bilateral endoscopic sinus surgery for him,” said Dr Aw.

Dr Aw added that he was hopeful that Mr Al Dehba’s sense of smell would return a few weeks following the surgery done on 28 th of July 2010.

“I have lots of confidence in Dr Aw. He is the best doctor I have ever seen. When he told me that I could undergo a surgery for my condition, I was not nervous at all. Rather, I was very excited with the availability of a treatment option,” said Mr Al Dehba.

His surgery took one and a half hours, and he was discharged the following day. After the surgery, he felt that there was no longer a blockage in his airways. He expressed excitement in being able to smell, even though he had yet to regain his sense of smell at the time of the interview. It will take another 2-3 weeks for him to do so.

“I am very excited and look forward to being able to smell. I am very satisfied with the level of service we (i.e. for his father as well) experienced at Raffles. We are also very happy that Raffles has an Arabic-speaking staff who was able to help us throughout our entire stay. Your staff helped us communicate with the doctors and also made the necessary arrangements for us to see the various doctors. She had been really very helpful and we appreciate everything she had done for us.”

“Finally, I would like to thank Dr Aw for all his efforts in helping me breathe easily again. To all the doctors who have helped my father, who is now in good condition, thank you very much as well,” said Mr Al Dehba.

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