Man Plays Saxophone During Tumor Removal

Ok, this is just too weird, creepy or, I don’t know, maybe “miraculous” to not blog about.

According to a posting on the NPR website, “The team of doctors who recently operated on Spanish musician Carlos Aguilera's brain wanted to be sure they didn't affect his ability to play the saxophone – so they had him play songs during a 12-hour surgery.

A partially sedated Aguilera obliged, playing "Misty" and other songs, in addition to reading sheet music. In a video of the procedure, the mellow tones of Aguilera's saxophone blend in with the normal sounds of an operating room.”

Here’s a link to the post: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/19/460380252/brain-surgery-serenade-man-plays-saxophone-during-tumor-removal

To me this just raises all sorts of questions, some of which are reasonable, like:

• Is this the first time patients have played instruments during brain surgery?
• Can you play other Instruments?
• And, lastly, did anybody applaud?

The answers are “no”, “yes” and “I don’t know.”

And now for the good news, he’s fine! “The 27-year-old was sedated, on painkillers, but remained conscious during the entire multi-hour operation.

NPR’s Lauren Frayer reported that "Doctors were removing a brain tumor, and wanted to ensure the surgery wouldn't damage Aguilera's musical ability. It was the first such surgery of its kind in Europe.

The operation took place in October, and Aguilera recently went public to say he's been cured — and continues playing his sax with an orchestra in the southern city of Malaga."

Here’s the link: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/19/460380252/brain-surgery-serenade-man-plays-saxophone-during-tumor-removal

Frayer goes on to write that "Such procedures are meant to protect musicians' primary audio cortex and other parts of the brain that can affect their ability to play. (A story on NPR's Weekend Edition today looks at The Neuroscience Of Musical Perception, Bass Guitars And Drake.)"