A Brazilian musician has given one of the world's most unconventional musical performances ever — whilen on the operating table undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor. The 33 year old musician, Anthony Kulkamp Dias, remained conscious during the operation by singing and playing his guitar at the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Hospital in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Dias serenaded the surgeons and the operating room staff with six songs that included The Beatles' “Yesterday” and of his own original compositions, followed by some popular Brazilian songs. During the performance the doctors monitored his crebral activity behind a surgical sheet.
“I played six songs at determined moments,” Dias told the Brazilian news website G1 Brasil. “My right hand was a bit weaker because that was the side that they were operating on. So I stopped and rested. I was interspersing songs and talking with them”. This is the 19th time the hospital has carried out this procedure with cerebral monitoring. The doctors had asked Dias to sing while under the knife to help them to monitor his cerebral activity in real-time because monitoring in this way allows doctors to safely map the patient’s brain while the patient is awake to avoid any injury that could compromise important brain functioning. Cerebral monitoring ensures sensory, motor, and speech areas remain intact during the procedure. Keeping the patient awake is a challenge that helps the surgery team, including the anesthetist, since the brain tissue does not have pain sensors unlike the skin and other structures. The anesthetist is responsible for keeping the patient awake and pain-free. Dr. Jean Abreu Machado, clinical director at the hospital said. “By keeping the patient awake during surgery, these areas can be monitored in real time. A kind of mapping of important areas can be done,” The Telegraph reported. In a similar case, Lithuanian violinist Naomi Elishuv serenaded surgeons at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center with Mozart as doctors performed corrective brain surgery to remove an essential tremor. This neurological condition results in rhythmic trembling of the hands and other limbs. Doctors were successful in locating the site of the tremors as Elishuv’s playing improved. Both brain surgery musical performances received a standing ovation from the operating room. Dias and Elishuv were both successfully discharged and continue to pursue their musical talents. FROM TELEGRAPH A Brazilian bank worker has stunned doctors by playing The Beatles’s Yesterday on guitar while having brain surgery. Anthony Kulkamp Dias, 33, was kept conscious during his operation to remove a tumour and played the British classic for the surgery team. He also played Emanuel, a song he wrote for his newborn son, as well as Brazilian country songs. “The doctors asked me to repeat one of the country songs so I even had an encore,” Mr Kulkamp told Brazilian news website G1. Mr Kulkamp, who played guitar professionally for 20 years, discovered the tumour 15 days after his son was born a few months ago. He told local media he could not even say the name of his car and was stammering as a result. Last week, he underwent surgery while conscious, and played a guitar balanced on his stomach. “I played six songs at certain times,” he said. “My right hand was a bit weaker because that was the side that they were operating on. So I stopped and rested. I was interspersing songs and talking with them.” The pioneering surgery allowed doctors to safely map the patient’s brain while awake to avoid injury that could compromise important brain functions. “While it surprised everyone, the surgery was performed,” a spokesman from the Nossa Senhora da Conceição hospital in Santa Catarina said. “Cerebral monitoring - important to prevent injuries that occur in the sensory, motor and speech areas - occurred during the procedure.” It was the 19th time the hospital had carried out such a procedure with cerebral monitoring. Dr Jean Abreu Machado, clinical director, said: “By keeping the patient awake during surgery, these areas can be monitored in real time. A kind of mapping of important areas can be done. “It really is a great challenge for the whole surgery team, including the anaesthetist.” He said the brain tissue does not have pain sensors but the skin and other structures do. “At this point, the anaesthetist’s challenge begins: to keep the patient awake and pain-free,” Dr Machado added. Mr Kulkamp was due to be discharged today |
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