Patient plays guitar during surgery for rare condition

A 37-year-old man was cured of a rare medical condition, guitarist dystonia, a disruptive flexion of one or more muscles or muscle groups. Abishek Prasad, who wanted to be a guitarist, realised after quitting his corporate job that he is experiencing difficulty in playing guitar.

“Three of the fingers of my left hand - middle, fourth and the little finger - used to get stiff and stuck while playing the guitar. I was not able to follow my passion due to this,” said Abishek.

He said he was having the ailment for the last two years. When he consulted doctors, they put him on medication. Later, it was found to be a rare neurological disorder diagnosed only when the person plays guitar.

“A 14-mm-wide hole was made in his skull, 9-cm deep, and an electrode was passed to the brain, after reconfirming the target location for making lesions,” said Dr Sharan Srinivasan, steriotactic and functional neurosurgeon who headed the team that performed the surgery.

Doctors said the uniqueness of the surgery was that Abishek was playing guitar during the surgery as it was important to monitor if he was experiencing any sensory loss. Doctors at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital who performed the surgery on June 11 said only one percent of musicians have this kind of a medical condition which is found in people in the 20-40 age group.