(See the previous post for the intro to this article.)
Eye-surgery patient Benjamin Semana went to sleep under anesthesia yesterday listening to Dr. Samuel Wong, the Honolulu Symphony's outgoing music director, play Bach and Beethoven on an electric piano in the operating room.
Medical benefits of music
What: Pan-Pacific Conference on Music and HealingWho: Distinguished speakers and performersWhen: 2 to 6 p.m. tomorrow at the new John A. Burns School of Medicine at Kakaako, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall. Suggested donation: $100 per person.Sponsor: Dr. Samuel Wong's Global Music Healing Institute
The unique, musical setup at the St. Francis Medical Center-Liliha is part of the hospital's new Laser Tear Duct Center, which will be used for all kinds of eye surgery.
Wong, who is also an ophthalmologist, stopped playing to observe Dr. Jorge G. Camara perform laser surgery on Semana for a blocked tear duct. But the live piano performance continued with Dr. Arthur Harvey, University of Hawaii music professor and researcher, at the keyboard.
While Camara had help yesterday from guest musicians, he's a classically trained pianist, as well as a surgeon, and he plans to play for patients while they undergo and awaken from anesthesia.
"I could hear it in the background," Camara said after Semana's operation. "It relaxed me. To have a live pianist is an awesome experience, and to have Dr. Wong by my side is incredible."
The Laser Tear Duct Center was blessed yesterday by the Rev. Joe Specht, the hospital's chaplain.
