A UK-based musician proved that classical music stimulates the mind in more ways than one after playing the violin in the middle of a brain tumor operation, as seen in a new video.
The 20-second clip shows the Isle Of Wight’s Dagmar Turner, 53, impressively performing complex scales on her instrument while surgeons monitor her exposed brain. The unorthodox procedure was carried out at King’s College Hospital in South London, reports the Independent.
The musical interlude wasn’t meant to serenade the surgeons — the team wanted to ensure that the parts of Turner’s brain responsible for fine movement weren’t inadvertently damaged during the complicated procedure.
The mother of one was diagnosed in 2013 with a slow-growing brain tumor after suffering a seizure during a concert. To make matters worse, the growth was located on the right frontal lobe, near an area that controls fine movement in her left hand. It was a Catch-22, as the violinist feared that undergoing surgery would also render her unable to do what she loved.
Turner finally agreed to an operation last year after the tumor swelled to a whopping 8 by 4 centimeters (3 by 1½ inches), despite radiotherapy sessions. Fortunately, “we knew how important the violin is to Dagmar,” neurosurgeon Keyoumars Ashkan, an accomplished pianist himself, tells the Daily Mail. He adds that “it was vital that we preserved function in the delicate areas of her brain that allowed her to play.”
The surgeons spent two hours meticulously mapping out her brain to identify the parts activated by playing. It was Turner herself who suggested playing the instrument during surgery, reports ITV.
During the operation, surgeons opened the top of the anesthetized musician’s skull, before waking her to perform the mid-surgery sonata, all while monitoring her brain. Turner recounts how the surgeons handed her the violin and said “Play loud now” immediately after she regained consciousness.
Thankfully, the operation was a success. The team managed to “remove over 90 percent of the tumor, including all the areas suspicious of aggressive activity, while retaining full function in her left hand,” says Ashkan.
Three days after the procedure, Turner’s condition had improved to the point where she was able to return home to her husband and 13-year-old son.
“The violin is my passion; I’ve been playing since I was 10 years old,” says the grateful musician. “The thought of losing my ability to play was heartbreaking.”
"middle" - Google News
February 19, 2020 at 01:31AM
https://ift.tt/2V0Qe4L
Patient plays violin in the middle of brain surgery - New York Post
"middle" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2MY042F
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment