While Undergoing Brain Surgery, Patient Plays Flute

While undergoing brain surgery, patient plays her flute
by Allyson Chiu April 2 at 5:12 AM

Before the electrodes were implanted, Henry could barely hold a cup of water steady, TMC News reported. But after the electric current was administered, Henry not only played the flute, she also signed her name with smooth strokes. Her handwriting was legible for the first time in decades.

Henry’s operating room concert is not the first time instruments have been played by patients during brain surgery.

In July 2016, a music teacher played a saxophone during a procedure to remove a benign brain tumor that was “located in a part of the brain known to be active when people listen to and make music,” according to NPR. About a year later, surgeons in Bangalore, India were treated to a guitar performance as they operated on a man to correct a neurological condition called musical dystonia, which caused the patient’s fingers to cramp, CNN reported.

Patients are sometimes kept awake during these surgeries so doctors can monitor brain activity to ensure the right areas are being repaired and other parts of the brain are not being damaged, according to Mayo Clinic.

“My folks lived through the [Great] Depression,” Henry told TMC News. “If there’s anything they taught me, it was that an obstacle is not something that stops you; it’s something you find a way around.”