Patient plays guitar while undergoing BRAIN surgery

Li Xiaonan, the 57-year-old patient, studied musical arts and longed to become a professional musician ever since his university years.

However, he began developing a neurological disorder 23-years-ago which saw his right middle finger stiffen whenever he played guitar - and he had to rest the finger before he could use it again.

Aged only 34 at the time, his would-be career ended before it had even begun, leaving him to choose a path as a music teacher instead.

Over the past two years, Li sought help from medical professional across China, but was misdiagnosed with Parkinson's or psychological problems, with none of the so-called experts able to get to the route of his condition.

It was not until earlier this year, when Li once again put his faith in medicine, that his condition was properly identified, and doctors proposed a plausible course of treatment.

Doctor Cai Xiaodong of the Shenzhen Second People's Hospital diagnosed him as having focal hand dystonia - a condition common amongst musicians and athletes which causes loss of muscle control.

Li put his trust in Doctor Cai, who said the disorder could be treated with deep brain stimulation.

This week during surgery, Li was asked to play his classical guitar before, during, and after the surgery to compare the effects of the electrotherapy.

Surgeons at the hospital in Shenzhen City, in southern Guangdong Province, stimulated Li's brain with electricity through two holes drilled in his skull, and Li was immediately able to feel the loosening of his right middle finger.

Doctor Cai said: "The operation was a success; he could play the guitar very smoothly after we stimulated the right place."

He noted that, although dystopia is not a rare condition, it was only the seventh time in the world that deep brain stimulation had been used to treat it.

Doctor Cai said it was also the first ever case in China.

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(dailystar.co.uk)