A 27-year-old in Spain has gone beyond the realms of talent and performed a jazz classic while undergoing 12 hours of brain surgery.
Carlos Aguilera played a cover of Misty on his sax, to a room of 16 medics who wanted to make sure the procedure kept his musical skills intact.
The performer was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which doctors took out two months ago.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, he said the surgery made him feel like he had been born again.
Aguilera - no relation to pop star Christina Aguilera - was given painkillers but he stayed awake as doctors did not put him under general anaesthesia.
Speaking to a local news publication, La Opinion De Malaga, one of the surgeons said the musician had been in a state of semi-consciousness, with his head open on the table.
Guillermo Ibáñez said: "He is a professional musician and his life depends on it. [It] was the only way to operate without damaging the part involved in the musical language."
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While the medical feat received applause from the around the world, it is not the first time surgeons have kept musicians semi-conscious during brain surgery.
Earlier this year, a 33-year-old banker played Beatles hit 'Yesterday' while medics took out his brain tumour.