A patient at King's College Hospital in London has successfully played the violin while having a brain tumour removed by surgeons.
Dogmar Turner, 53, was asked by the medical team to play the violin to ensure the parts of her brain which control delicate hand movements and coordination were not damaged during the millimetre-precise surgery.
Ms Turner, from the Isle of Wight, was diagnosed in 2013 with a brain tumour after suffering a seizure during a symphony.
The committed violinist, a member of the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, was frightened she would lose her ability the play during the surgery.
The tumour was located in the right frontal lobe of her brain, close to an area that controls the fine movement of her left hand.
A consultant neurosurgeon at the hospital then came up with a plan to reduce the risk.
Professor Keyoumars Ashkan is also an accomplished musician as well as a physician, and understood Ms Turner's desire to save her musical skills.
The groundbreaking surgery involved spending two hours before the operation mapping her brain to identify areas that are active when she plays, and also those responsible for controlling language and movement.
Surgeons then performed a craniotomy and opened her skull before waking her from the anaesthetic.
While still on the operating table Ms Turner picked up the violin and began doing a number of complicated scales and improvising.
Prof Ashkan said: “We knew how important the violin is to Dagmar so it was vital that we preserved function in the delicate areas of her brain that allowed her to play.
"We managed to remove over 90 per cent of the tumour, including all the areas suspicious of aggressive activity, while retaining full function in her left hand.”
Ms Turner, who returned home to her husband and son three days later, added: “The violin is my passion; I’ve been playing since I was 10 years old. The thought of losing my ability to play was heartbreaking.”
