Health
Florida brain tumor patient plays guitar during his surgery: ‘This is wild’
The idea of having brain surgery while awake might seem amazing enough — but one Florida man took it a step further and played the guitar while doctors removed his tumor.
The neurological team from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine wanted the patient, Christian Nolen, to play notes on the instrument so they could evaluate and protect his manual dexterity while being as aggressive as possible in removing the tumor.
The surgeon and patient both spoke with Fox News Digital about the experience.
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Nolen, who is an avid guitar player, had a tumor on the right frontal lobe of his brain that was starting to cause symptoms.
“Christian was having issues with the left side of his body, particularly his left hand,” Ricardo Komotar, M.D., director of the brain tumor program at Sylvester, told Fox News Digital via Zoom.
“He was noticing issues with his dexterity that affected his ability to play the guitar.”
The neurological team from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine asked Christian Nolen to play guitar during his surgery so that they could evaluate and protect his manual dexterity. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
Nolen needed surgery to confirm the diagnosis and determine the type of tumor — as every tumor has different treatment options, Komotar noted — and also to remove as much of it as possible.
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The surgery was scheduled for 10 days after the tumor was discovered — and Nolen was surprised when the doctors asked if he’d be willing to remain awake and play the guitar for the procedure.
“When a tumor is involving or near a critical part of the brain — something that controls the ability to speak or understand language or move — we want to do the surgery awake to continually monitor the patient, so you know if you start to violate normal brain functions,” Komotar said.
Dr. Ricardo Komotar of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is director of the brain tumor program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
When the patient is asleep, the doctor said, the surgery team doesn’t have the ability to get feedback.
“The surgeries actually become much more dangerous because you can take out a tumor that involves normal brain function and cause real harm without knowing it,” he said.
Given the importance of guitar-playing in Nolen’s quality of life, Komotar said there was “no better way” to monitor his manual dexterity and the effect of the tumor than to have him take up the instrument in the operating room.
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When the doctors posed the option to Nolen, he said that at first it “didn’t seem real.”
“I’d only really heard of procedures of that nature being done in shows and movies,” he told Fox News Digital in an email. “I felt like it was such a unique experience that I couldn’t pass up — especially with my motor skills being on the line.”
He added, “The risk of being sedated for the entire procedure outweighed any fear or anxieties around the procedure itself.”
Given the importance of guitar-playing in Nolen’s quality of life, his surgeon said there was “no better way” to monitor his manual dexterity and the effect of the tumor than to have him take up the instrument in the operating room. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
Prior to the procedure, Nolen said he was introduced to members of the surgical team and was told in-depth about what to expect.
The anesthesiology team put Nolen to sleep for the beginning of the open craniotomy, but he was awakened during a delicate part of the two-hour procedure. Once he was oriented on what was happening, the care team gave Nolen a guitar and asked him to play.
“Upon awakening, it was quite overwhelming to see everything around me and to fight the natural reaction to sit up,” Nolen recalled.
“I felt like it was such a unique experience that I couldn’t pass up — especially with my motor skills being on the line.”
After one of the members of the care team placed a “reassuring hand” to prevent Nolen from sitting up, he said it took only a second for him to remember what was happening.
“I just had to breathe and stay calm,” he said.
During surgery, he tried his best to play through some of the songs he had been practicing, including tunes by artists like the Deftones and System of a Down.
Nolen had a tumor on the right frontal lobe of his brain that was starting to cause symptoms. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
As the surgeons removed the tumor, they continuously monitored Nolen’s hand function while he played the guitar.
“As we were finishing the case at the very back of the tumor, we noticed that his hand function started to decline,” said Komotar. “The tumor was touching and interfacing with the part of the brain that controls hand movement. Fortunately, we were able to remove the entire tumor and not injure his hand.”
“This is wild,” Nolen said during the surgery.
What to know about awake procedures
While a patient playing guitar during surgery is not an everyday occurrence, Komotar told Fox News Digital that he and the rest of the specialized neurosurgical team perform awake surgeries several times a week, for a total of a couple of hundred times a year.
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“Most patients are intrigued by the process,” he said. “We tell them that they’re going to be able to speak and move their hands or limbs so we can constantly examine them.”
The doctors also reassure the patients that they won’t feel any pain, likely won’t remember the entire procedure, and will remain very comfortable — “which is the result of our world-class neuroanesthesia team,” added Komotar.
Research has proven the benefits of doing procedures with awake anesthesia instead of deep general anesthesia, the doctor noted.
Prior to the procedure, Nolen was introduced to members of the surgical team and was told in-depth about what to expect. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
“Surgery with continuous neurological exam leads to better functional outcomes and fewer neurological deficits,” he said.
There are also improvements in discharge and recovery.
“The less anesthesia you use during your procedure, the better the patient wakes up,” he said. “The faster they wake up, the sooner they are up and walking around, and the sooner they go home.”
Komotar added, “And inherently, the longer you’re in the hospital, the more complications you have.”
“Surgery with continuous neurological exam leads to better functional outcomes and fewer neurological deficits.”
Guitar-playing isn’t the only activity that patients can do during an awake craniotomy.
Anything that doesn’t increase pressure in the head, such as playing the violin, is fair game, Komotar said.
Some patients sing during brain surgery, which allows the surgeon to monitor their ability to form and understand words as they remove tumors in areas that involve language.
Before awake surgeries, the doctors reassure patients that they won’t feel any pain, likely won’t remember the entire procedure, and will remain very comfortable. Nolen is shown at left; Dr. Ricardo Komotar is at right. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
There are some risks involved with awake cranial surgery, Komotar acknowledged.
“Seizures can definitely be worsened by doing awake surgery,” he told Fox News Digital. “If someone has a history of seizures, we try to avoid electric brain stimulation, which is part of the technique.”
The biggest risk of doing awake brain tumor removal is that about 5% to 10% of patients don’t “tolerate” being awakened, Komotar said.
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“Even with world-class anesthesia, they might wake up either too startled or too in pain to be examined,” he said. “They might be confused, agitated or unable to follow commands.”
If that happens, the care team puts the patient back to sleep and proceeds with a more conservative tumor removal.
“He went home the day after surgery. He says his quality of life is better than it’s ever been, so I think his recovery has been remarkable.”
Without having continuous feedback from the patient, the surgical team can’t be as aggressive with the tumor removal, Komotar noted. “We only take out what we know is definitely safe, and we leave anything that’s questionable.”
The road to recovery
Nolen’s surgery went smoothly and the entire tumor was removed.
“Christian did terrific,” Komotar said. “He went home the day after surgery. He says his quality of life is better than it’s ever been, so I think his recovery has been remarkable.”
“The team at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami has been very informative and has not left much to the imagination in the best way possible,” the patient said. (Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)
The first couple of weeks after surgery were a little tough for Nolen, the patient said, mainly due to post-surgery restrictions.
“The days were really dragging,” Nolen told Fox News Digital. “However, with a strong support system, I’ve been able to focus on the positives.”
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He is now back to working out at the gym and playing the guitar, with significant improvement in his left hand.
“A case like this spotlights the value of multidisciplinary care.”
He’s awaiting the final pathology results, with follow-up treatment likely consisting of six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.
Both Komotar and Nolen emphasized that the success of the surgery hinged on the collaboration of the entire care team.
“The team at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami has been very informative and has not left much to the imagination in the best way possible,” said Nolen. “They have also provided me with quite a few programs for emotional support.”
“A case like this spotlights the value of multidisciplinary care,” added Komotar.
“It’s not possible to remove a tumor like this and get the patient home so quickly and in such good health without an entire comprehensive team — neuro anesthesiologists, great intensive care specialists, nurses, techs, great oncologists — all working together.”
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There has been a shake-up in the Make America Healthy Again movement regarding glyphosate, a widely used herbicide that has been the subject of significant controversy.
The debate follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that ensures an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides related to national defense.
MAHA supporters have previously pushed a pesticide-free agenda, warning of potential health harms caused by glyphosate.
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said he believes there is sufficient evidence linking glyphosate to neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, to warrant limiting exposure.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that ensures an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides related to national defense. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
“With Parkinson’s, this association appears to be due to the gut, vagus nerve and brain axis, where the exposure affects the microbiome in the gut, which then ascends slowly up to the brain, causing the neurodegenerative disease years later,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.
“There is also a growing association being found between high-dose glyphosate or occupational exposure and metabolic disorders, liver disease and some cancers, specifically lymphoma.”
He added, “Growing research backs this. I favor limiting it.”
“When we apply them across millions of acres and allow them into our food system, we put Americans at risk.”
Studies have shown that glyphosate, which is used in products such as Roundup, owned by Monsanto, could raise cancer risk.
In one University of Washington study published in the journal Mutation Research, researchers found that exposure to it increased the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41%.
The nonprofit Investigate Midwest, which analyzed data from both the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Cancer Institute, also recently found that pesticides may contribute to cancer rates.
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Among the top 500 counties for per-square-mile pesticide use, more than 60% had cancer rates above the national average of 460 cases per 100,000 people, according to the report.
Investigate Midwest, which is based in Illinois, interviewed more than 100 farmers, environmentalists, lawmakers and scientists as part of a partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship.
Among the top 500 counties for per-square-mile pesticide use, more than 60% had cancer rates above the national average of 460 cases per 100,000 people, according to one study. (iStock)
Iowa, which used 53 million pounds of pesticides last year, holds the nation’s title for second-highest cancer rate.
Bill Billings, a resident of Red Oak, Iowa, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.
“The cancer specialist said, very directly, (my) cancer is a result of being exposed to chemicals,” Billings said in the report.
Kelly Ryerson, founder of Glyphosate Facts and owner of the Instagram account @glyphosategirl, told Fox News Digital her journey researching the herbicide began with her own health struggles.
Ryerson, who is based in California, previously struggled with chronic illness and autoimmune issues, which she said improved when she stopped eating gluten.
Iowa, which used 53 million pounds of pesticides last year, holds the nation’s title for second-highest cancer rate. (iStock)
After attending a medical conference at Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center, Ryerson began to question modern farming practices rather than the gluten itself.
“A lot of times, farmers are spraying Roundup on our grains right before harvest to facilitate an easier harvest,” she said. “After that easier harvest, because everything’s dry at the same time, those crops go directly to the mill and may end up in our food supply, at alarmingly high levels.”
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In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization framework, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The classification was based on limited evidence of cancer in humans (notably non-Hodgkin lymphoma in some studies) and sufficient evidence in experimental animals.
“President Trump’s executive order reinforces the critical need for U.S. farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools, such as glyphosate,” a Monsanto spokesperson said. (Wolf von Dewitz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Monsanto told Fox News Digital it will comply with Trump’s order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.
“President Trump’s executive order reinforces the critical need for U.S. farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools, such as glyphosate,” the spokesperson said.
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a vocal critic of Roundup, working with his legal team in 2018 to award $289 million to a man who alleged the weed killer caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to reports.
Following backlash to Trump’s executive order, Kennedy said he supports the order but acknowledged that “pesticides and herbicides are toxic by design, engineered to kill living organisms.”
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“When we apply them across millions of acres and allow them into our food system, we put Americans at risk,” he posted on X. “Chemical manufacturers have paid tens of billions of dollars to settle cancer claims linked to their products, and many agricultural communities report elevated cancer rates and chronic disease.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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Living near heavy traffic could negatively impact your heart health.
A European study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that exposure to nighttime road traffic noise is linked to changes in the blood, leading to worsened cholesterol and cardiovascular risks.
The researchers considered data from the U.K. Biobank, Rotterdam Study, and Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, including more than 272,000 adults over the age of 30, according to a press release.
Nighttime road noise exposure was estimated at all participants’ homes based on national noise maps. Researchers also took blood samples to measure the participants’ metabolic biomarkers for disease, then mapped the link between nightly noise levels and existence of biomarkers.
Exposure to loud noise was associated with increased concentrations of cholesterol-related biomarkers. (iStock)
The study found that people exposed to louder noise at night — especially sounds above 55 decibels — showed changes in 48 different substances in their blood. Twenty of these associations “remained robust” throughout all cohorts.
Exposure to loud noise was associated with increased concentrations of cholesterol-related biomarkers, especially LDL “bad” cholesterol, IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein) and unsaturated fatty acids.
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As noise levels increased, starting at around 50 decibels, cholesterol markers rose steadily, the release stated.
The authors concluded that this study “provides evidence that nighttime road traffic noise exposure from 50 dB upward is associated with alterations in blood cholesterol and lipid profiles in adults.”
Researchers noted a link between traffic noise and cardiometabolic disease. (iStock)
Study co-author Yiyan He, doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu in Finland, noted that in this type of research, small effect sizes are expected, and environmental exposures such as traffic noise are “typically modest.”
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“Despite this, we observed statistically robust and consistent associations across many biomarkers, especially those related to LDL and IDL lipoproteins,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“We also identified a clear exposure-response pattern starting at around 50 dB, suggesting that metabolic changes become more evident as noise levels increase.”
This aligns with public health guidance, as the World Health Organization recommends lower nighttime noise limits at around 40 to 45 dB, Yiyan He added.
“This finding may clarify the association between traffic noise and cardiometabolic diseases,” the researchers wrote. (iStock)
“The 55 dB level is often used as an interim benchmark associated with substantial noise annoyance and sleep disturbance,” she said. “In our study, we observed associations not only at 55 dB, but also indications of effects emerging at around 50 dB.”
The strength and consistency of the cholesterol-related associations were surprising, as these changes are usually “subtle.”
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“Instead, we found consistent associations across multiple large European cohorts, which strengthens confidence that the findings may reflect real biological patterns,” Yiyan He went on. “We were also interested to see that effects were minimal below ~50 dB, suggesting a possible threshold-like pattern.”
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The researcher noted that these findings were consistent across genders, education levels and obesity status.
The study was restricted to White Europeans, which posed a limitation. There was also a lack of information on the fasting status in the UK Biobank.
Changes in cholesterol levels were more severe than researchers expected. (iStock)
“Fasting can influence levels of certain metabolites, particularly fatty acids,” Yiyan He said. “However, based on UK Biobank documentation, fewer than 10% of participants were fasting for at least eight hours, and our main findings focused on cholesterol-related biomarkers, which are generally less sensitive to short-term fasting.”
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The researchers also lacked information on bedroom location, indoor noise exposure and time spent at home.
“These factors may introduce non-differential exposure misclassification,” Yiyan He said. “Additionally, noise exposure estimates were based on participants’ temporary residential addresses at the time of blood sampling, without considering the duration of residence.”
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“Many of these limitations would tend to bias results toward the null, so the consistent associations we observed remain noteworthy.”
Experts recommend taking measures to limit traffic noise at night. (iStock)
Based on this latest research, Yiyan He noted that nighttime noise is a “health-relevant exposure,” not just “an annoyance.”
“Our findings suggest that nighttime traffic noise may subtly but consistently affect metabolic health,” she said. “While the changes in cholesterol and lipid levels for any one individual are small, traffic noise affects a very large number of people, which means the potential public health impact could be substantial.”
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The researcher recommends taking measures like improving sound insulation, using noise-reducing strategies and placing bedrooms on the quieter side of the home when possible.
“Because sleep is a key pathway linking noise to health, protecting the nighttime sleep environment is especially important,” she added.
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