A Chinese musician, with a rare disease that made him unable to play his instrument, had brain surgery – and played his guitar while on the operating table.

The musician, who is reported to be surnamed Li, is a guitarist from northern China's Jilin province, according to Southern Daily.

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He was faced with a rare disease called Musician's Dystonia, a disease that renders his fingers weak and incapable of playing his musical instruments, as well as making him unable to write.

Li has been suffering from the disease for about 20 years. As the condition did not have any medications that could treat it, his situation became worse as time passed by.

Li eventually decided to undergo brain surgery, which is the only way to treat the disease.

Cai Xiaodong, the director of the department of neurology at the 2nd People’s Hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong, performed the brain surgery on Li to address the problem. The surgery took place Monday.

The brain surgery lasted for about an hour. Li had to remain conscious as Cai implanted medical electrodes into his brain. Cai then used electricity to stimulate the neurons that controlled Li's finger muscles.

For his part, Li needed to try to move his fingers during the surgery to check if the electrodes were effective. While the operation progressed, he found his fingers regaining movement and dexterity, and tried to show off some advanced guitar techniques while Cai was still working on him.

“[The surgery] has immediate effects,” Cai said. “Li has regained 80 per cent of the use of his finger muscles.”

“The remaining 20 per cent will return through rehabilitation,” Cai added.

The electrodes that were implanted in Li's brain are powered by batteries that were also implanted under the skin on his shoulder. The batteries are expected to last about 10 years.

Musician's Dystonia, also known as Musician's cramp, is a neurological movement disorder that can affect different body parts as well, including the eyes, neck and hand, says Dystonia.org. It can also affect a person's voice.

A study has found that it can be caused by intense use of a musical instrument.

TagsMusician's Dystonia, Musician's cramp, Cai Xiaodong, Guitar