Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #556

Patient Plays Saxophone While Undergoing Brain Surgery In Italy
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObKJObysaj0
By Ben Hooper
Oct. 14 (UPI) -
- Doctors in Italy shared details of a recent, delicate brain surgery dur- ing which patient remained awake and playing the saxophone.
Paideia International Hospital in
Rome said in a news release that the 35-year-old patient, identified as G.Z., was kept awake and played his saxophone dur- ing the 9-hour sur-
gery to remove a tumor from his brain.
Doctors said the musical perform- ance allowed the surgeons to map the different func- tions of his brain as they operated.
"Awake surgery makes it possible to map with extreme precision during surgery the neuronal networks that underlie the various brain func- tions such as play- ing, speaking, moving, remem-
bering, counting," Dr. Christian Brogna, who led the surgery team, said in the release.
"The goal of awake surgery is to remove the brain tumor or a vascular malforma- tion such as caver- nomas located in specific areas of the brain, while preserving the patient's quality of life."
Brogna said the surgery was a suc- cess.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine