Many surgeons listen to music when performing operations. It's not often, however, that it's the patient under the knife who's playing it.

At King's College Hospital London,  though,  violinist Dagmar Turner played as surgeons operated to remove a tumor from  her brain, to ensure no damage was done during the intricate operation.

Turner, 53, is a member of the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra and was worried that she could lose her ability to play during the cancer surgery. By playing at the same time as the operation, the surgeon could see if she was being affected.

The successful operation at King's College Hospital, London, involved millimeter-precise surgery in the right frontal lobe of her brain which controls delicate hand movements and coordination.

Dagmar was first diagnosed with a brain tumor after suffering a seizure during a symphony in 2013 and she decided on surgery when the cancer became more aggressive last year.

Professor Keyoumars Ashkan, a consultant neurosurgeon at King's, who is also an accomplished musician, came up with the plan for her to play the violin during the operation. Surgeons spent two hours before the operation mapping out her brain and identifying the areas which were active when she played.

Then on the operating table Ms Turner picked up the violin and played several complicated scales.

Prof Ashkan said: "We knew how important the violin is to Dagmar so it was vital that we preserved function in the delicate areas of her brain that allowed her to play. We managed to remove over 90% of the tumor including all the areas suspicious of aggressive activity while retaining full function in her left hand."

Three days after the operation Dagmar was well enough to go home. "The violin is my passion. I've been playing since I was 10 years old," she said. "The thought of losing my ability to play was heart-breaking but, being a musician himself, Prof Ashkan understood my concerns. 

"He and the team at King's went out of their way to plan the operation – from mapping my brain to planning the position I needed to be in to play. Thanks to them I'm hoping to be back with my orchestra very soon."