Parkinson’s patient plays clarinet during brain surgery, revealing miraculous instant results

24 October 2025, 14:46

Parkinson’s patient plays clarinet during surgery

The 65-year-old patient was undergoing a four-hour surgery to relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

A woman with Parkinson’s disease played the clarinet while undergoing brain surgery, showing the instantaneous results of the procedure.

Denise Bacon, 65, underwent a four-hour operation known as deep brain stimulation - where surgeons send electrical impulses through very thin wires into the areas of the brain that are responsible for movement.

The surgery is designed to treat movement-related symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Bacon was encouraged to play the instrument throughout, to test the efficacy of the procedure.

The retired speech and language therapist said it was “just amazing” to see and feel her fingers moving “better and faster” during the operation than they had been able to in recent times.

“I remember my right hand being able to move with much more ease once the stimulation was applied, and this in turn improved my ability to play the clarinet, which I was delighted with,” she said.

“I used to play in the East Grinstead Concert Band,” she continued. “And I had to stop around about lockdown, I remember I just couldn’t keep going and it was mainly because the fingers weren’t pressing.”

Read more: Incredible footage shows dad playing guitar while undergoing brain surgery

The operation was led by Professor Keyoumars Ashkan from King’s College Hospital in London.

“As a keen clarinettist, it was suggested Denise bring her clarinet into the operating theatre to see whether the procedure would improve her ability to play, which was one of Denise’s main goals for the surgery,” Ashkan said.

“We tend to do these operations awake, so that we can assess the patient on the table."

Having Bacon playing during surgery allowed doctors to fine tune the position of the electrodes so that she could go back to playing her instrument almost as well as before she developed the disease.

Read more: Woman who played violin through brain surgery gives touching tribute to her neurosurgeon

Bacon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, and, as the neurological disorder progressed, she began to face difficulties walking, swimming, dancing, and playing the clarinet.

She was not Ashkan’s first patient to perform while in surgery: in 2020, a violinist played while a tumour was removed from her brain.

For the next 20 years, a chest-implanted pulse generator that was inserted during the surgery will constantly deliver electrical impulses with the hope of giving her the chance to return to the hobbies and passions she loves, a spokesperson for King’s College Hospital said.

Bacon said she has already seen a difference in her walking and is looking forward to returning to things like swimming and dancing.