Woman plays clarinet during surgery for Parkinson's

As a keen amateur musician, Denise Bacon has spent years playing her beloved clarinet at concert halls and bandstands.

However, the 65-year-old’s latest performance will surely go down as her most unusual. It took place in the middle of an operating theatre while she underwent brain surgery.

Bacon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014 and her ability to play music, swim and walk have been affected by symptoms including slowness of movement and muscle stiffness.

In July, she had a four-hour operation at King’s College Hospital in London to undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS). Bacon picked up the clarinet to play scales and riffs during the procedure, noticing an instant improvement in her finger movements.

The surgical procedure involves drilling holes half the size of a 5p coin in a patient’s skull and implanting electrodes deep in the brain to stimulate specific areas, which change electrical signals in the brain that can cause Parkinson’s symptoms.

The surgical team, led by Professor Keyoumars Ashkan, had suggested that Bacon bring her clarinet with her to the operating table, so that doctors could tell if the electrical current was helping.

Bacon remained awake throughout the operation and was “delighted” when the electrical current led to instant improvements in her ability to play the instrument.

Bacon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014

Ashkan, professor of neurosurgery at King’s College London, said: “As a keen clarinettist, it was suggested Denise bring her clarinet into the operating theatre to see whether the procedure would improve her ability to play, which was one of Denise’s main goals for the surgery. We were delighted to see an instant improvement in her hand movements, and therefore her ability to play, once stimulation was delivered to the brain.”

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He added: “Holes half the size of a 5p piece were made in Denise’s skull after a frame with precise co-ordinates was placed on Denise’s head, acting as a sat-nav to guide us to the correct positions within the brain to implant the electrode.

“Once the electrodes were in place on the left side of Denise’s brain, the current was switched on and an immediate improvement was noted in hand movements on her right side. The same happened on her left side when we implanted electrodes on the right side of her brain.”

Bacon, a retired speech and language therapist from Crowborough in East Sussex, played clarinet in the East Grinstead concert band until she had to stop five years ago owing to Parkinson’s, but she is now hoping to play more.

Bacon experienced instant improvement in her finger movements as an electrical current was delivered to her brain

KAREN WELSH/KING’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL/PA

She was given a local anaesthetic to numb her scalp and skull during the surgery. The brain itself has no pain receptors and it is not unusual for patients to remain awake during brain surgery.

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Bacon said: “I remember my right hand being able to move with much more ease once the stimulation was applied, and this in turn improved my ability to play the clarinet, which I was delighted with.

“I’m already experiencing improvements in my ability to walk, and I’m keen to get back in the swimming pool, and on the dance floor to see if my abilities have improved there too.”

The operating team included a surgeon, neurologist, neuropsychologist, as well as DBS and theatre nurses. The electrodes were connected to a pulse generator, similar to a pacemaker, placed in Bacon’s chest, which can last up to 20 years. The pulse generator delivers electrical impulses to continuously modify brain activity and reduce Bacon’s symptoms.

DBS, which is the main type of surgery used to treat Parkinson’s, can help control motor symptoms such as tremors, but it does not stop the neurodegenerative disease from progressing and it is not a cure.