A musician undergoing complicated brain surgery in Italy played the saxophone throughout his nine-hour operation.
A team from Rome’s Pedia International Hospital operated on a 35-year-old man, who was only diagnosed as GZ, to remove his brain tumor. The patient had “awake surgery” so doctors could make sure they wouldn’t compromise her neurological function, the hospital said in a press release.
“Each brain is unique, as is each individual,” said surgery leader and neurosurgeon Dr. Christian Brogna said.
“Awakening surgery makes it possible during surgery to map with extreme accuracy the neuronal networks that perform various brain functions such as playing, speaking, moving, remembering, counting.”
GZ told the surgeons that his musical ability was his most prized possession, Brogna told CBS. Allowing GZ to play the saxophone during “awake surgery” proved useful to the team, the neurosurgeon said, as it allowed him to see the brain functions he was used to.
During the lengthy process, GZ produced the 1970 film “Love Story,” and the Italian . played the theme song of national anthemseveral times during surgery.
GZ later told the hospital that during his surgery, which lasted more than nine hours, he felt calm rather than fear. He returned to a normal life after surgery, CBS reported.
More than 10 medical professionals have benefited from the work of GZ. complex surgery was complemented by a number of advanced technologies, including a specific tracer that helps differentiate cancer cells from surrounding healthy tissue.
“Every awake surgery not only allows to achieve maximum results in terms of removal of pathology, but it is a real discovery,” Brogna said. “Each time it gives us a window into the workings of this fascinating, but still in many ways mysterious organ, that is the brain.”