Patient gives concert during surgery

When Dagmar Turner, 53, discovered she needed brain surgery to remove an aggressive tumor, she had one big concern: Would she still be able to play the violin? The surgical team at King’s College Hospital in London came up with a solution. Dagmar was awake during the surgery and played her violin.

How did that help? Dagmar’s tumor was in the right frontal lobe of her brain, near the area that controls the delicate movements of her left hand that are crucial for violinists, the hospital said on Tuesday. Because Dagmar was playing, the surgical team could tell if they were getting too close to that part of her brain.

Dig deeper: If you aren’t too squeamish, you can watch the video of the surgery on the hospital's YouTube channel.