A 35-year-old Italian musician played guitar and tambourine while being operated on to remove a brain tumour in Turin Friday. The so-called 'asleep-awake' technique was used at the northwestern city's Molinette Hospital.

This enables surgeons to better monitor brain function during the operation. In this way, the risk of brain damage is reduced to a minimum. Doctors said the op was a complete success. The patient was named as Alan Brunetta, a professional musicians who plays several instruments and writes music for the Turin band 'LaStanzadiGreta'.