A dedicated Wisconsin musician is proving his talents to the medical community by playing the trombone while undergoing brain surgery.
Brian Rust has been a professional trombonist for several years, but after years of practice, his performance was suddenly becoming increasingly difficult.
“It was almost like someone else was grabbing (the instrument) and shaking it,” Rust told CNN, which was unusual for the artist.
A neurologist diagnosed him with intention tremor, a characteristic of damage to the cerebellar pathways. To relieve his symptoms, he offered him a surgical option.
Together, they eventually decided on deep brain stimulation (DBS), a procedure in which small wires are inserted into the patient’s brain, according to Dr. Wendell Lake.
But for deep brain stimulation he has to stay awake.
As the medical team was running tests during the operation, Brian Rust asked to bring his brass trombone. His surgeon happily obliged.
Screenshot – CNN / WDJT report
The patient performed on the table in front of his surgeon, who asked him questions about his condition during the operation.
“I felt like the whole staff was watching me, because it was pretty unusual for them,” Rust said in an interview with CNN.
Rust now has a device in his chest with two settings that Dr. Lake says “will modulate the cells in that area and improve his tremors.”
He can turn the device on and off at will, and every night he turns it off to “remember what life would be like if I didn’t have this device.”
Brian Rust is still playing his trombone, nearly two years after surgery.
