This is the moment a musician serenaded surgeons while they burned out parts of his BRAIN – so he could play guitar.
Taskin Ibna Ali, 31, suffered from with focal hand dystonia – a rare condition also known as ‘musician’s cramp’ which meant he lost 80% of the precise dexterity in his left hand.
There is no known cure, but experts believe it is caused by failing motor control systems in the brain, so Taskin asked surgeons to operate.
Doctors burned away the ‘misfiring’ parts of the brain – and an incredible video shows Taskin playing guitar on the operating theatre so surgeons could check they’d cut off the correct bit.
The talented musician from Bangladesh instantly regained near-full use of the fingers on his left hand for the first time in five years.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Sharan Srinivasan said: “This is a very specialised brain circuit surgery that is performed in very few centres in India.
“It involves ‘burning’ a set of ‘misbehaving and misfiring’ brain circuits which are about 8-10cms deep inside his brain.
“This is performed under local anesthetic because the patient needs to be fully awake and repeatedly play his guitar and also perform other activities that he found difficult.
“In doing so these circuits can be precisely localised and ‘burned’. He got near 100% results during surgery.
“He gained full the use of his first, second, fourth and fifth fingers and about 50% use in the third finger.
“He was able to play the guitar very well and also flip a coin and handle a mobile phone.
“With postoperative specialised neuro rehabilitation, the third finger has also recovered 100%, as also the strength and coordination in his hand and fingers.
“He is now retraining his brain circuits to restore his original pattern of playing the guitar.
“His ability to perform fine, manipulative movements with his left hand has recovered 100%.”
Computer engineer Taskin, who did not wish to use his surname, started playing the guitar in 2005 and went professional in 2008.
Five years later he began noticing some discomfort in his left middle finger while playing guitar and the pain soon spread to all his other fingers.
He was diagnosed with focal hand dystonia, and was devastated to hear there was no immediate cure.
Focal hand dystonia causes involuntary movement, cramps or tremors in the hand or arm muscles usually when making highly practiced hand movements like writing or playing musical instruments.
The cause is not fully understood but it appears that the motor control systems in the brain essential for performing music fail to work properly.
He sold one of his guitars and saved up for ten months to afford the operation at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, in Bengaluru, India, on May 17.
Surgeons burned pathways which were 10.5cm deep inside his brain and said the results were instant.
