Late last month, British violinist Dagmar Turner performed a wonderful piece of music while undergoing brain surgery, to ensure that the surgical procedure did not affect her ability to play the violin. Images of the event caused quite a sensation.
According to foreign media, Turner, 53, who plays violin for the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra in the UK and has been playing for more than 40 years, was diagnosed in 2013 as having brain cancer. Even though the initial surgery did manage to remove the tumor, the cancer reappeared in December last year.
Keyoumars Ashkan, the neurosurgeon who performed the procedure this time, was concerned that the surgery might affect the cranial nerves that enable Turner to control her hand movements. The two of them came up with the idea to allow Turner to play the violin during the surgery, and in this way the surgeons would be able to determine during the process whether the cranial nerves were working properly. Because of this, the doctors also needed to understand music, otherwise they couldn’t be certain whether the idea was working.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
The four-hour procedure went off without a hitch, and during the surgery Turner performed the classic jazz piece Summertime by the US composer George Gershwin, as well as songs by Latin lothario Julio Iglesias.
Turner is now fully recovered and has been discharged from hospital. She is back performing on stage, and has become the UK’s first person to undergo brain surgery to remove a tumor in a waking state while also playing the violin.
(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
英國小提琴家透納上月底在醫院進行開顱手術的同時，以小提琴演奏出優美樂曲，為的是讓她的演奏能力不受開刀過程影響，畫面曝光後引發熱烈討論。
綜合外媒報導，現年五十三歲的透納，是英國懷特島交響樂團的小提琴手，拉琴經驗逾四十年，二○一三年被確診罹患腦癌，雖然一度開刀切除腫瘤，但去年十二月再次復發。
為透納動刀的神經外科醫生阿什坎擔心手術會影響透納控制手部動作的大腦神經，因此兩人想出一項方案，讓透納開刀時演奏小提琴，好讓醫師能在過程中判斷腦神經是否正常。因此，醫師還需要懂音樂才能確保做法有效。
四小時的手術相當順利，期間，透納演奏美國音樂家蓋希文的經典爵士樂作品《夏日時光》，以及西班牙歌手「拉丁情人」胡立歐的歌曲。
如今，透納已康復出院，並重返舞台參加演出，而她也成為英國首位在清醒狀態接受腫瘤摘除手術，還能拉小提琴的人。
(自由時報)
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