Video: Brazilian Strums Guitar As Docs Operate On His Brain

By R. Siva Kumar - 08 Jun '15 09:31AM

Anthony Kullkamp Dias, 33, sang six songs even as the medicos performed an operation to remove his brain tumor, said the Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceicao, according to cnn.

Dias strummed the Beatles number "Yesterday", some Brazilian numbers and an original song called "Emanuel," which he dedicated to his son.

"I played six songs at certain times," Kulkamp said to the local media. "My right hand was a bit weaker because that was the side that they were operating on. So I stopped and rested. I was interspersing songs and talking with them."

He was awake and quite vocal while the doctors examined his brain to monitor and map areas that disclosed possible injuries, so that he could control motor function and speech that may get impacted if the tumour was removed, according to the doctors.

"The doctors asked me to repeat the country song so I even had an encore," he said, according to dailymail.

The tumour had been discovered by Dias just a few days before his son was born. His idea to play the guitar and sing came to him a day before he was brought into the operating room.

Having played the guitar for 20 years, Dias was also able to play the accordion, keyboards, trumpet and the flute very well.

Dr. Jean Abreu Machado, who was the hospital anesthesiologist and clinical director, explained that the brain tissue had no sensors to pain. Yet, the skin and other surrounding tissues had sensors, which posed an interesting challenge to doctors on how to "keep the patient awake and pain-free." By playing during the operation, Dias was able to help the doctors detect the relevant areas of motor skills. Dias agreed that he felt no pain and 90% of his tumor was removed.

In a similar operation in 2013, a California man named Brad Carter played the guitar, which enabled doctors to find the best location for a pacemaker for his brain, according to thehuffingtonpost.