Christian Nolen, a patient with cancer, transformed an operating room into an unexpected music venue by playing System of A Down and Deftones songs on his guitar during his brain surgery. This unorthodox approach was part of a medical strategy to ensure Nolen’s brain was functioning normally while the doctors were removing the tumor.
Dr. Ricardo Komotar, who heads the University of Miami’s brain tumor program, told Fox News Digital that Nolen’s tumor was in the right side of his frontal lobe, which affected his motor skills, particularly in his left hand, making guitar playing challenging. The surgery was scheduled for 10 days after the cancerous growth was discovered.
The Patient’s Thoughts On The Surgery
Nolen was invited to play guitar throughout the procedure by the medical staff at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to gather input on his health. The patient was taken aback to learn that he would need to remain awake for the procedure:
“I’d only really heard of procedures of that nature being done in shows and movies. I felt like it was such a unique experience that I couldn’t pass up – especially with my motor skills being on the line. The risk of being sedated for the entire procedure outweighed any fear or anxieties around the procedure itself.”
The Doctors Almost Failed
At the very end of the procedure, there was a key point when Dr. Komotar realized that Nolen’s hand function was starting to decline:
“As we were finishing the case at the very back of the tumor, we noticed that his hand function started to decline. The tumor was touching and interfacing with the part of the brain that controls hand movement. Fortunately, we were able to remove the entire tumor and not injure his hand.”
You can check out the video of Christian Nolen’s mini-concert in the operating room in the video below.