A patient at a British hospital said on Wednesday that surgeons made a last minute decision to allow her to play violin while they operated on her brain.
Adam Reed reports.
Violin was last minute addition to surgery, says brain tumour patient
This remarkable footage shows a very different kind of instrument being used during this brain surgery procedure in London last month.
And the patient involved, now well into her recovery, has revealed that this special performance nearly didn't happen.
Dagmar Turner made the suggestion prior to the surgery to remove a brain tumour, but doctors at King's College Hospital only asked her to bring her violin the day before.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) 53-YEAR-OLD PATIENT WHO PLAYED VIOLIN WHILE UNDERGOING BRAIN SURGERY, DAGMAR TURNER, SAYING: "My husband was already starting the email back, like 'sorry guys, it's a bit too late, and I said 'no, no, no, hang on, I've got lots of friends in London who play violin." To prevent any damage to her violin skills, neurosurgeons came up with a plan to get her to play as they removed the tumour from the right frontal lobe - close to the area that controls the fine movement of her left hand.
Armed with a borrowed violin Dagmar serenaded medical staff and as the surgery was carried out, she spoke on Wednesday (February 19) saying her toughest decision was deciding what to play.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) 53-YEAR-OLD PATIENT WHO PLAYED VIOLIN WHILE UNDERGOING BRAIN SURGERY, DAGMAR TURNER, SAYING: "That's really difficult, because something would just jump out of your head and your fingers." The special setlist included George Gershwin's jazz classic "Summertime", although the unconventional performance area did come with a few of its own issues.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) 53-YEAR-OLD PATIENT WHO PLAYED VIOLIN WHILE UNDERGOING BRAIN SURGERY, DAGMAR TURNER, SAYING: "I remember that my bow kept hitting something or someone, and I just thought 'get out of my way" Surgeons said the procedure was a success, removing over 90 percent of her tumour and hasn't prevented a return to the violin.