"As a consultant to the Center for Disease Control in the US… and after a month of providing data and encouragement, I was able to convince the organization to change public policy and recommendations to include loss of smell and taste" as one of the indicators for screening asymptomatic patients with Covid-19, stated Dr Zara Patel, associate professor at the Stanford School of Medicine and a member of the Faculty Senate. She additionally performs a triple role as director at Stanford — of the Rhinology Fellowship Program, of Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery within the Otolaryngology (ear, nose, throat) Department and of the Olfactory (smell) Disorders Center.
"As an endoscopic sinus and skull base surgeon, Patel’s surgical work and research has helped thousands of patients regain their sense of smell, save their vision and even sometimes their lives," noted a write-up on the rhinologist in Stanford Health Care’s periodical, MedStaff Update, Issue 16 of November 13, 2020.
Responding to Parsiana’s queries in the third week of December, a fortnight after we approached her, the harried doctor stated, "The Covid surge in California has been rapidly climbing over the last month and all my time and energy has been directed to helping the hospital and these patients lately. I can only hope that vaccines become more widely dispersed in a rapid fashion or something else can mitigate this surge. We have very few ICU (intensive care unit) beds left within the entire state."
Above: Dr Zara Patel lends expertise at the Stanford School of Medicine
Patients who lose their sense of smell and taste find it highly impactful on their quality of life and in their desperation to restore it will try any "purported miracle drugs," both intranasal and taken orally, advertised online, she observed. Seeking to reassure those whose sense of smell and taste are impacted after contracting Covid-19 she stated, "There are methods of trying to bring it back, including topical intranasal medications and a very structured smelling protocol termed olfactory training."
A decade ago, there was often no remedy for tumors or infections that resulted in the malfunctioning of the sense of smell. Or patients would spend months in intensive care units, post surgery. With new research and therapies, "I can now help about 50% of the patients coming to see me," said the rhinologist who uses her expertise of endoscopic surgery through the nose to reach the sinuses and skull base. Referring to the vital vessels that traverse the skull base – the carotid artery that brings blood to the brain, the cranial nerves that allow one to smell, taste, see, move the eyes, move the face, speak, swallow – Patel stated, "they are all structures that I constantly work around… With the techniques we currently use, my patients spend a day or two in the hospital" before they are discharged and able to resume their regular life. "The revolutionary change this type of surgery has brought to people’s lives is why I chose this field," she cited her reasons for specializing in this field.
In a week, the 41-year-old surgeon-consultant-researcher-teacher spends two days each in surgery and for consultation, and uses the remaining working hours to undertake research and take care of administrative responsibilities being director of multiple departments. While her research and teaching proceeds concurrently with clinical work she makes time to teach students in a classroom setting too. She is presently the primary investigator on approximately 20 separate protocols investigating topics related to the field of rhinology.
Born and raised in St Louis, Missouri, Patel went to medical school in Portland, Oregon, did her residency in New York in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, fellowship at Stanford in endoscopic sinus and skull base surgery and got her first job as an attending surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia before being recruited by Stanford.
After Zara’s parents Marzban and Shireen Patel (both from Cusrow Baug in Bombay) migrated to the US and settled in St Louis, Marzban practiced as a dentist and Shireen was a Montessori school directress. Now retired, they enjoy traveling the world together. Her sister Cheherazade, working as an executive producer in the field of advertising, lives in Chicago and New York. Zara’s husband André Rivard is trained as a neuroscientist. "We both absolutely love our new puppy Luna Noodles who has brought us so much joy and laughter this year," she said.
"Growing up as a Parsi in the middle of the mid-western United States definitely set me apart from my friends and classmates, but my pride in my background gave me a sense of self-confidence and self-worth that allowed me to easily navigate peer pressure and challenging situations," stated Zara, adding, "Being raised in a culture that is so rare and unique, taught me to value my own uniqueness and be proud about what made me different from others. The same can be said of being a woman in a highly male-dominated field; I have been able to wield my uniqueness to my benefit instead of viewing it as a burden.
"Additionally, the strong sense of right and wrong that my parents instilled within me through their teaching of Zoroastrianism, along with the joviality and food/drink/life-loving nature of our people has imbued me with a character and personality that has allowed me to live and enjoy life to the fullest, helping as many people as possible along the way," she declared.