Man plays guitar while doctors ‘burn’ his brain to correct neurological disorder

A musician played the guitar on the operation table as he underwent a surgery at a private hospital in Bengaluru for a rare movement disorder affecting guitarists.

The successful brain circuit surgery, believed to be the first such operation in the country, was performed on July 11 by a team of doctors from Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain Hospital on 37-year-old Abishek Prasad, who has a passion for the guitar, to rid him of the neurological disorder ‘guitarist dystonia’ that had crippled his fingers.

During the entire surgery, the patient was fully awake and was playing the guitar as the problem only occurred when he tried playing the instrument. So the feedback from the patient was important to get the exact location of the target, doctors told reporters in Bengaluru.

Expressing joy over the successful procedure, Mr Prasad, a native of Bihar, said even the doctor did not expect 100 per cent result.

“It was a great feeling for both me and the doctor. It was 100 per cent result on the operation table itself. I’m very excited, finally now I can live my dream, can play my guitar again after one month of recovery… Now my fingers are completely listening to me, earlier my fingers were erect and changing from one chord to other was difficult,” he added.

The youth, who is cured now, said he was amazed to see his fingers improve magically on the operation table itself, adding that by the end of the surgery, his fingers were 100% cured and he could move them like before.

Within three days of surgery, he was able to walk out of the hospital and all set to play guitar again, the report added.

Brain surgery is often carried out on patients who are concious and is done in a similar manner as conventional surgery. Because by remaining awake, surgeons can continuously locate the exact location of the affected area without having accidentally strike some of the brain functions.