A South African singer, Musa Manzini, with a brain tumour played the guitar during a critical operation to remove most of the growth.

One of the neurosurgeons, Dr. Rohen Harrichandparsad, said this helped guide the medical team in their delicate task while preserving neural pathways.

The intention was to test Mr Manzini’s “ability to produce music”, which requires the complex interaction of pathways in the brain, the doctor said, the Evening Standard reports.

Mr Manzini was given his guitar near the end of the successful procedure as doctors checked that everything was in order.

Mr Manzini was given local anaesthetic during what doctors call an “awake craniotomy” at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban.

In an “awake craniotomy,” some doctors stimulate parts of the brain with a mild electrical current.

This is a means of testing and mapping areas that control key functions such as movement and speech.

Should a patient struggles to speak when the current is applied to a particular area, for example, doctors know they must protect it during tumour removal.

Despite the “awake” in the procedure’s name patients are given medication to make them sleepy throughout parts of the operation.

In 2015, a musician played his saxophone as he underwent brain surgery in Spain, while an opera singer sang during a brain operation in the Netherlands in 2014.

Dr Basil Enicker, another neurosurgeon who operated on Manzini, said 90 per cent of the tumour was removed.

He added that the musician was at home near Durban and doing well.

“Our main aim was to make sure that we do the best that we can for our patient,” Dr Enicker said.

He said the response from the public to news of the operation was very positive, adding: “We are pleasantly surprised.”