Incredible footage shows dad playing guitar while undergoing brain surgery

25 September 2025, 17:53 | Updated: 26 September 2025, 12:13

Man plays guitar during brain surgery

His doctors monitored his hand movements throughout.

A man from Plymouth played the guitar while undergoing brain surgery.

Paul Welsh-Dalton, 44, was having an operation to remove a brain tumour the size of a kiwi and the medical team encouraged him to play his guitar so they could monitor his brain activity.

During the five-hour craniotomy, surgeons removed 98% of the 4cm tumour while Paul played three songs – ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’ by Green Day, ‘Tribute’ by Tenacious D and ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis as surgeons at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, worked on 28 March.

Read more: Playing classical music during operations ‘makes surgeons faster and more accurate’

The dad of five had been suffering with aphasia and headaches, and was admitted to hospital after a seizure at home, when doctors discovered a mass on his brain and diagnosed a rare type of malignant brain tumour, oligodendroglioma.

The operation was successful, and although his stage three tumour was classed as terminal, Paul has been given more time.

Paul said: “We met with the surgeon who performed the surgery and I just mentioned in the initial meeting how important the guitar is to me – I’ve been playing for 30 years.

“He just said, ‘bring it along and we’ll see if we can work it into it.’

“Playing the guitar whilst having my brain operated on was such a surreal experience.”

Read more: Hypnotised singer performs during operation

Keeping Paul awake and playing the guitar throughout the operation meant doctors could keep checking on how their work was affecting Paul’s speech and ability to move his hands – at one point in the video a surgeon asks him to show that he can strum using all his fingers.

His wife, Tiff, said: “When he is awake the surgeon said he can press on Paul’s brain and know if he’s gone too far plus Paul’s speech and ability to move his hands and such is a good indicator of any areas that become affected during surgery.”