
Surgeon who saved Davina McCall's life reveals he listened to iconic band while cutting tumour from star's brain
Neurosurgeon Kevin O'Neill, 62, says life-saving surgery gets so stressful that his hand could start shaking so he uses music to calm himself.
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Davina McCall's brain surgeon listened to ABBA's hits as he carried out her complex five-hour operation
Credit: Getty
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Neurosurgeon Kevin O'Neill, 62, says he uses music to calm himself and avoid his hands shaking
Credit: Getty
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Davina, 57, discovered a 14mm colloid cyst when she was offered a free health scan
Credit: Instagram
When the top brain expert was asked if he listened to ABBA during The Masked Singer star's
'Some people like silence to focus — sometimes you do need that — but it's about balancing stress with performance.
'Stress can actually improve your performance to a certain extent, until it becomes excessive and then it paralyses you and it gives you the shakes.
'So you've got to have mechanisms to control that and one of them is to put some music on.'
READ MORE ON DAVINA MCCALL
He added that he's such a fan of the Swedish superstars that he's twice been to see their
Davina, 57, discovered a
The TV host faced the risk of
Following the procedure, she spent three days in intensive care and then five days recuperating at London's Cleveland Clinic.
Most read in Celebrity
Speaking to Helen Fospero on the Convex Conversation podcast, Kevin admitted that he was nervous when Davina came round following the surgery.
He said: 'She
Davina McCall breaks down in tears and reveals 'difficult year'
But the op proved successful, and a recent MRI scan confirmed the tumour is not coming back.
Kevin said: 'I had a big smile on my face when I saw that scan.'
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The Masked Singer star's operation proved successful
Credit: Instagram
The most common symptoms of a brain tumour
More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives.
The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after
Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return.
Brain tumours can cause
They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
Headaches
Seizures
Feeling sick
Being sick
Memory problems
Change in personality
Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
Vision problems
Speech problems
If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP.
Source: NHS
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