Skull Base Osteomyelitis Treatment Testimonial: A Father’s Recovery Story
Skull base osteomyelitis is a rare and often misdiagnosed infection, and patients frequently go through multiple doctors and inconclusive scans before reaching the right diagnosis. Below, Arshad Ali Baig shares his father’s journey — from months of unexplained, severe headaches to a full recovery — after being treated by Dr. Kumaresh Krishnamoorthy. If you or a family member are navigating a similar diagnosis, this testimonial offers a real, first-hand account of what treatment and recovery can look like.
Testimonial
Hi Everyone,
I am A Ali B, writing on behalf of my father, who has come out of the dreadful stage of skull base osteomyelitis.
This all started in May 2012 when my father complained of a headache. He consulted a general physician and took the usual medication, since headaches are common. We thought it would settle on its own — unfortunately, it didn’t. It became continuous and more severe (he described it as “thunders in the head”) day by day, and he would cry out in pain at home. We were shocked to see this.
We admitted him to a well-known super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad, where a neurologist advised an MRI brain scan along with several other tests to identify the cause. Nothing conclusive came out of the reports. He was there for three days, kept mainly on pain-relief injections, which gave him temporary comfort. Soon after discharge, the same thunder-like headaches resurfaced.
We then consulted a maxillofacial surgeon, as my father was also complaining of severe pain in his cheek. An X-ray revealed a tiny tooth inside the gums believed to be causing the pain, and he underwent tooth removal on that advice. It helped for a day. We then came to Bangalore to consult a well-known maxillofacial surgeon, who advised a CT scan and further infection tests.
The reports showed that the infection had killed the right upper jaw bone (right maxilla), which needed to be removed. We kept asking ourselves why the earlier infection tests hadn’t shown this. He underwent surgery to remove the right maxilla and was discharged after a week.
We returned to Hyderabad with some relief, but something still felt wrong — my father said the headache hadn’t fully gone. We went back to the same Bangalore maxillofacial surgeon, who advised an MRI of the neck and brain. After reviewing the results with a neurosurgeon colleague, he confirmed the infection had spread upward toward the skull, into the sphenoidal sinus, and declared the case critical. By this point, it had been more than four months since the illness began, and we felt increasingly hopeless.
He advised us to consult a well-known ENT surgeon. We found and consulted a prominent ENT surgeon in Hyderabad at a reputed hospital — but he barely engaged with my father’s core complaint of headache, and that consultation did little to help.
Soon after, pus began draining from both of my father’s ears in large amounts. In October 2012, my sister came across reviews of Dr. Kumaresh and encouraged us to travel to Bangalore to consult him.
Looking back, we consider it a genuine blessing that we found Dr. Kumaresh. He carefully listened to the entire history and, even before examining my father, said he believed it was skull base osteomyelitis — a diagnosis we had never heard before. He ordered an MRI brain and bone scan, which confirmed the infection was already in an advanced stage. My father was immediately started on aggressive IV antibiotics, and we waited anxiously as the infection had reached a critical point.
Thankfully, within 20 days of starting the medication, my father began feeling noticeably better — the headaches were fading, and he was sleeping soundly again. This was the turning point where he began regaining his confidence after months of depression and lost hope. The full course of medication lasted about four months, with follow-up scans showing steady, progressive improvement. It has now been more than six months, and my father is fully back to his normal daily life.
Dr. Kumaresh is, by far, the best doctor I have ever met, and nothing I say can fully do justice to him — he is extremely intelligent, deeply compassionate, and a truly outstanding physician. I count myself fortunate to have found him.
A very big thank you, Doctor. My father’s life is back on track.
— Arshad Ali Baig
A Rare Diagnosis, A Full Recovery
This testimonial reflects why an accurate, early diagnosis matters so much with skull base osteomyelitis — a condition that’s frequently missed because its early symptoms (persistent headache, facial pain) overlap with far more common issues. With the right diagnosis and a sustained course of targeted antibiotic treatment, full recovery is achievable, even in advanced cases. If you or a loved one are dealing with unexplained, worsening headaches that haven’t responded to standard treatment, consider seeking a specialist evaluation early.
