Patient Plays Saxophone While Undergoing Brain Surgery in Italy

The title of this blog is also a headline I found while piddling about on the internet.  Before reading the article, I tried to imagine my own reasons why a patient would play the sax while doctors operated on them.

Was the patient’s sax playing in-kind payment (in real time) for the surgeon’s work?  Had the patient lost some kind of bet?  Did a scheduling conflict land the patient’s surgery and a concert at the same time?

The truth is perhaps stranger.

According to a news release from Paideia International Hospital in Rome, a patient, identified as G.Z., was kept awake and played his saxophone during a “delicate” nine-hour surgery to remove a brain tumor.

"Awake surgery makes it possible to map with extreme precision during surgery the neuronal networks that underlie the various brain functions such as playing, speaking, moving, remembering, counting," Dr. Christian Brogna, who led the surgery team, stated.

The doctors involved with the procedure reported being pleased with the results of the surgery.

No word was offered on how well G.Z. played the sax.

—Mitchell Hegman

Source: UPI