The idea of undergoing brain surgery while awake would be pretty daunting for most people, but one woman in Italy saw the operation as the perfect opportunity to get some cooking done.
A 60-year-old woman from Abruzzo prepared 90 stuffed olives while undergoing brain surgery.
The surgery was carried out by doctors at the Azienda Ospedali Riuniti, and saw a tumour removed from the woman’s left temporal lobe - the area of the brain that controls movements of the right side of the body.
Eleven doctors and nurses were involved in the surgery, which lasted a total of 2.5 hours.
Dr Roberto Trigani, the lead surgeon, said: “Everything went well.”
While this is the first time a patient has prepared stuffed olives during brain surgery, Dr Trignani has now carried out around 60 surgeries in which the patient is still awake and engaged in other activities.
Other patients have previously played the trumpet, played the violin, and watched cartoons!
In February, musician Dagmar Turner played violin while a surgeon removed a tumour from her brain.
The 53-year-old feared the operation would affect her hand movements.
So neurosurgeon Professor Keyoumars Ashkan – a pianist himself – and his team spent two hours “mapping” her brain to identify which areas were active while she played.
Mum-of-one Dagmar said: “The violin is my passion, I’ve been playing since I was ten. The thought of losing my ability to play was heartbreaking.
“But, being a musician himself, Prof Ashkan understood my concerns. He and the team went out of their way to plan the operation, from mapping my brain to planning the position I needed to be in to play.
“Thanks to them I’m hoping to be back with my orchestra very soon.”
