banjo surgery
Banjo-pickin' in the OR at Vanderbilt Medical Center
Some brain-surgery patients have to remain conscious during the operation so that doctors can tell if they're fooling around in the correct area or not, and if the patient can speak, or add and subtract, etc., it guides the doctors. (Supposedly, no pain.) So renowned picker Eddie Adcock, whose career was threatened because of hand tremors that surgeons were trying to stop via brain re-wiring, brought his banjo in and picked a note here and there to let doctors know they had the right wires. BBC News (video)
Some brain-surgery patients have to remain conscious during the operation so that doctors can tell if they're fooling around in the correct area or not, and if the patient can speak, or add and subtract, etc., it guides the doctors. (Supposedly, no pain.) So renowned picker Eddie Adcock, whose career was threatened because of hand tremors that surgeons were trying to stop via brain re-wiring, brought his banjo in and picked a note here and there to let doctors know they had the right wires. BBC News (video)
Comments
Strange but intriguing. I bet not too many docs are entertained while they perform brain surgery.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 10/14/08 at 07:46 AM
Good thing the guy didn't play the bagpipes, or a tuba, or better yet...a pipe organ.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 10/14/08 at 08:17 AM
This will end up on Grey's Anatomy soon
Posted by Jules in Connecticut on 10/14/08 at 08:44 AM
I've had occasions to observe, first hand, good banjo pickers and I'd have sworn that there was NO brain to hand coordination. In fact, in one case, I'd swear there was no brain!
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 10/14/08 at 08:47 AM
Squeal!
Posted by Jules in Connecticut on 10/14/08 at 09:09 AM
You might be a redneck....
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 10/14/08 at 09:37 AM
There are no nerve endings in the brain to generate feeling, so no pain would be experienced.
The story does, however, bring to mind the STAR TREK episode "Spock's Brain."
The story does, however, bring to mind the STAR TREK episode "Spock's Brain."
Posted by stpatme on 10/14/08 at 09:48 AM
stpatme - I'd be more worried about the pain the banjo "music" inflicted on the OR staff...
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 10/14/08 at 09:51 AM
It could have been worse, as Madd Maxx points out, it could have been bagpipes!
Posted by stpatme on 10/14/08 at 09:55 AM
Ah, the gentle tones of the bagpipe: the most erotic instrument in the world.
My brain surgery, as you may notice, didn't go so well.
My brain surgery, as you may notice, didn't go so well.
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 10/14/08 at 11:35 AM
Is it the bagpipes that's erotic or the men in 'skirts' blowing into pipes that's erotic? JJ 😉
Posted by Madd Maxx on 10/14/08 at 11:43 AM
Maxx, don't go knocking men in kilts!! Mel Gibson in Braveheart? Liam Neeson in Rob Roy? Even Colin Farrell in Alexander? Ahhhhh, some men just have better legs than the average man....
Posted by BikerPuppy on 10/14/08 at 12:34 PM
Maxx - have you SEEN how long these men can hold their breath when playing the bagpipes? That's gotta be good for SOMETHING.
Posted by KW in Dallas, TX on 10/14/08 at 12:38 PM
You girls. You so bad!
Posted by Madd Maxx on 10/14/08 at 12:39 PM
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