An incredible scene recently unfolded in a British hospital. A violinist played the violin during her brain tumor surgery. The goal ? Help protect an area of the brain essential for this activity.
Dagmar Turner, 53, is a member of the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra in southern England. Diagnosed in 2013, the woman was recently operated on for a brain tumour , as stated in a statement issued on February 18, 2020. The operation took place at King's College Hospital in London. Doctors have thought of an original technique to check in real time the state of the area of the brain responsible for hand movement. Thus, the musician played the violin during his operation! Visible at the end of the article, the images broadcast by the British daily newspaper The Guardian are incredible.
In reality, Dagmar Turner did not play the violin throughout his operation. Indeed, the surgeons woke her up in the middle in order to make her play. According to them, it was to protect important cells contained in the right frontal lobe . However, this zone controlling in particular the left hand is located close to that which was operated on. For the patient, the worst fear was to lose the use of this left hand, essential to the practice of the violin.
Although the shape is very special, this kind of test is actually a habit. Indeed, doctors have reported that patients undergoing tumor removal are often awakened during the operation to respond to language tests . However, having a patient play the violin was a first for this team at King's College Hospital.
In the end, 90% of the cancerous tumor were removed and Dagmar Turner retained the use of his left hand. The patient obviously thanked the medical team, who did everything to make the operation a success. They even studied the ideal position to carry out the operation to allow the patient to play the violin. Dagmar Turner was discharged from the hospital three days after the operation and hopes to return to his orchestra.
In 2017, a very similar story unfolded in the United States. 27-year-old saxophonist Dan Fabbio also underwent brain tumor surgery. During the operation, he was asked by the doctors to play his instrument, for the same reasons as Dagmar Turner.
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