14 DAY TRIAL // Brain surgeon Jean Massot - full name Jean Joseph Xavier Ignace Antoine Ehisdore Massot - was born in July 1754 in the city of Perpignan in southeast France.
He studied at the University of Perpigna, and after making a name for himself as a surgeon to the French army, he went on to become a doctor for the Russian armies.
In those days, Russia was not at war with France. In fact, it was the French court that recommended Jean Massot as a trustworthy medical expert to Catherine II, Russia's then leader.
Although he was never involved in an actual battle and instead stuck to his job to look after the wounded, surgeon Jean Massot is now credited with inadvertently stopping Napoleon from kneeling Russia in 1812.
This is because it was he who saved the life of Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov - Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov - after he was shot in the head twice while fighting the Turks, the first time in 1774 and then again in 1788.
Very much alive and well courtesy of the brilliant skills of Jean Massot in the operating room, Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov even more brilliantly repelled Napoleon and his invading army and became a national hero.
Having spent years digging up and piecing together fragments of this seemingly insignificant chapter in history, researchers are now confident to say that, at the end of the day, it was really Jean Massot who saved Russia.
“It's a story of how medicine changed the course of civilization,” argues researcher Mark C. Preul with the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, US. As it turns out, he might, in fact, be spot on.
The head injuries should have killed the Russian general
In a paper in the journal Neurological Focus, specialist Mark C. Preul and his colleagues detail that, according to historical records, the stray bullet that hit Mikhail Kutuzov in the head in 1774 ran straight through his brain from one temple to the other and just behind the eyes.
Then, in 1788, the second bullet entered through his cheek, destroyed his teeth, ran straight through the brain, as its 1774 predecessor did, and eventually punched a hole near the nose and exited.
Under any other circumstances, either of these two wounds should have killed the general. Except they didn't. Jean Massot proved such a brilliant brain surgeon and did such a good job fixing the injuries that Mikhail Kutuzov survived on both occasions. He even sort of surprised himself.
“It must be believed that fate appoints Kutuzov to something great, because he was still alive after two injuries, a death sentence by all the rules of medical science,” reads an excerpt from the surgeon's diary.
The general's head injuries were not without consequence
Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov might have survived getting shot in the head twice, but the injuries to his brain were not without consequence. On the contraire, historical records say that, following these events, his soldiers noticed changes in his behavior and even thought him mad.
“The other generals thought Kutuzov was crazy, and maybe he was. The brain surgery saved Kutuzov's life, but his brain and eye were badly injured,” says researcher Mark C. Preul.
Quite ironically, it might be that it was these shifts in his personality and in his behavior following the bullet hits and the subsequent brain interventions that actually helped him win the 1812 war against Napoleon and his invading forces, Mark C. Preul and colleagues write in their study.
Thus, the researchers believe that, if in perfect health condition and not recovering from brain trauma, Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov would have surely gathered his army to confront Napoleon.
Instead, what he did was retreat from Moscow and let the harsh winter deal with the invaders. The plan worked like a charm, and defeated, Napoleon was left with no choice but to retreat back to Paris. Russia was saved and Mikhail Kutuzov became a national hero.
“The healing resolution of this situation allowed him to make what turned out to be the best decision. If he had not been injured, he may well have challenged Napoleon and been defeated,” argues Mark C. Preul.
