Salman Khan is well-known for his tough and macho on-screen appearances, but recent news about his medical condition leads one to believe that he is even stronger off-screen. Salman, 45, currently suffers from trigeminal neuralgia as well as an aneurysm in his brain, both of which he will be getting surgical treatment for in the United States. He left Monday evening and will undergo two surgeries. According to a source close to the family, ‘the first surgery is likely to take place on August 30 and after a gap of four days a second one will be done.’
Though trigeminal neuralgia is not a rare disease, it is a very painful one. It is characterized by intense pain across the face during various activities such as chewing food. Khan has seemingly been dealing with the pain for some time, though it is harsh enough occasionally to cause him to scream. “While shooting for Partner seven years ago, Lara Dutta touched the right side of my forehead. I felt I had been struck by an electric current.” He has been on painkillers ever since, but “I just can’t bear the pain anymore. Even talking or eating’s unbearable.”
Most patients with trigeminal neuralgia can get by with medications, but may need surgery after a few years, as is the case with Salman Khan. Some other methods of treatment are either using radiation-based tool called a gamma knife or an invasive method of untangling the mass of nerves and blood vessels that are the root of the sensitivity and pain.
To complicate matters further, surgeons in the US will only be able to tell what kind of procedure they will be carrying out on him once they have him on the operating table. “At present, I really don’t know if it is going to be a non-invasive surgery or a surgical one. I will know on the operation table.”
Salman Khan’s physicians are taking extra precautions, as an arteriovenous malformation that has developed into an aneurysm in the lowest part of his brain has been revealed through imaging and will also need to be treated surgically to stave off the risk of resulting micro-bleeds.
As a student in medical school I have learned firsthand that the triggered electrical shocks of trigeminal neuralgia are one of the most excruciatingly painful conditions a person can get. In fact, the pain is known to drive patients to the brink of suicide. It is amazing to see what a brave front Salman Khan has put on up to this point. We at Bollyspice.com wish him all the best and a safe recovery.
