World / 53-year-old woman plays violin during brain surgery in UK, video surfaces

A patient recovering from surgery and returning to something they love is celebration-worthy. 

Seeing the patient doing that mid-surgery might raise a few eyebrows. 

Dagmar Turner, 53, played the violin as doctors at King's College Hospital in London attempted to remove a brain tumor she's been battling since 2013. In a statement, the hospital said the surgery was done with Turner awake and playing to "ensure areas of the patient’s brain responsible for delicate hand movement and coordination" weren't damaged. 

Video of the procedure shows Turner playing with her eyes closed, surrounded by doctors. The procedure, performed by professor Keyoumars Ashkan and a team, was observed by anesthetists and a therapist, according to the hospital.

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Doctors first opened Turner's skull while she was under anesthesia, then woke her up and asked her to play while the tumor was removed. The hospital stated the tumor was located "in right frontal lobe of her brain, close to an area that controls the fine movement of her left hand," which Turner uses to play. 

Ashkan is also a dedicated musician who plays the piano, according to the hospital. Turner plays the violin in the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra – the tumor in her brain was discovered after she suffered a seizure during a symphony. 

“We knew how important the violin is to Dagmar so it was vital that we preserved function in the delicate areas of her brain that allowed her to play," Ashkan said in a statement. "We managed to remove over 90 percent of the tumor, including all the areas suspicious of aggressive activity, while retaining full function in her left hand.”

Ashkan said the King's College Hospital removes about 400 tumors per year and this was the first time he did so while a patient played an instrument. He added he "often" wakes up patients mid-procedure so they can perform language tests. 

In a statement released by the hospital, Turner thanked the doctors for planning out the procedure and said, "The violin is my passion; I’ve been playing since I was 10 years old." 

King's College Hospital said Turner, a former management consultant and a mother to a 13-year-old son, was well enough to return home three days after the procedure.