Open mind

Removing a brain tumor is a delicate operation. Neurosurgeons must be careful not to injure the patient and avoid causing complications like motor skills impairment.

Grammy Award winner Michael Bolton, 70, is taking a break from doing concert tours to recover from brain tumor surgery in December. He did not provide details of the operation in an Instagram post other than to describe it as successful.

Perhaps Bolton sang while on the operating table, like Krystina Vied of Keansburg, New Jersey did as she underwent the same procedure at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in July.

While surgeries are usually done with the patient asleep or sedated, Vied had to be not only awake but also belting out a tune as instructed by her doctors.

In a video of Vied’s surgery, she could be heard singing and talking as doctors removed the tumor through a hole in her head to stop the seizures triggered by cancer.

The surgeons needed Vied to be awake and talking so they could tell if the procedure was affecting her brain in real time, WABC reported.

Doctors said Vied’s singing voice was good, and so was her chance of getting rid of the brain tumor after the completion of a series of operations.

Meanwhile, guitarist Christian Nolen showed off his talent while under the knife at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in December.

Dr. Ricardo Komotar, Nolen’s surgeon, also needed the patient to be awake and doing something while they tinkered in his skull to remove a brain tumor.

The SCCC recently shared a video of the operation on YouTube, and it showed Nolen on the operating table talking to Komotar as he plucked on the strings of an electric guitar.

SCCC said the guitarist had to play a tune “so the doctors could evaluate and protect his manual dexterity as they removed the tumor,” according to Hindustan Times.