Touching footage from hospital reveals man playing guitar while undergoing brain surgery

3 December 27, 2018 | by Oyin Balogun

Musa Manzini, a famous South African jazz musician, played his guitar as he underwent awake brain surgery; it was a touching sight.

From the application of soothing reliefs, the jolting of memories, to the taming of snakes, music has contributed amazingly to the human race.Music is recommended medically in cases where patients are comatose; there is usually a third party in play, helping with the sound creation.In this clip, Musa played the guitar himself while doctors operate on his brain.

The jazz star was being treated for a brain tumor, and therefore had to be kept awake during his craniotomy at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban. Albeit, he was given local anesthetic; in the course of the surgery, Manzini was required to play the guitar as it helped the medical team in their delicate task.

Another reason was so they could test Manzini's ability to continue producing music which requires a complex interaction of pathways in the brain. Dr. Rohen Harrichand Prasad, one of the neurosurgeons who worked on Manzini said:

“it increased the margin of safety for us, in that we would have real-time feedback on what we were doing.

He was given his guitar towards the end of the six-hour surgery.Manzini himself ascertained the decision to perform an awake craniotomy; he confirmed to IOL, a South African news site that by playing the guitar, the doctors were able to preserve and restore his finger movement for his music career.

When asked how he felt during his surgery, Manzini replied:

"being in between general anesthesia and awake and hearing the sounds of a blow torch inside your brain... it's very difficult to concentrate."

Manzini's "music-to-the-rescue" case is not the first as another musician from India Abhishek Prasad was also asked to play the guitar on the operating table to help doctors treat involuntary muscle spasms in his fingers. The condition is commonly known as "Musician's Dystonia."

In November, a nineteen-year-old girl Laconetti sang her way through brain surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital so doctors could ensure important regions of her brain wasn't damaged thereby ruining her ability to sing. Another similar case was that of Effie, a ten-year-old girl from Columbus who survived brain surgery, scoliosis due to her faith.

Musa Manzini was confirmed to be healthy after the surgery by Dr. Basil Enicker, another doctor who operated on him as he asserted that he was doing fine at his home near Durban.Manzini plans on performing again once he fully recovers.