Doctors in China seem to have found a new way to help reduce their patients' anxiety: to let them play on their phones.
Ms Zhu, a 69-year-old patient, was too nervous to undergo an operation last month, so her surgeon allowed her to use her handset during the surgery as she said it could help her relax.
Doctor Zhu Yuefeng from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital said that being able to play with her phone had made the elderly patient 'happy'.
The surgical procedure took place at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on March 30.
The patient, surnamed Zhu, had suffered from varicose veins on her right leg for more than a decade. The condition had prevented her from standing up properly.
After experiencing immense pain caused by her swollen and stretched veins, Ms Zhu decided to undergo an operation to treat her condition.
Doctor Zhu Yuefeng, Ms Zhu's surgeon, told MailOnline: 'The patient was very anxious after she entered the operating theatre.'
The pensioner was extremely agitated because she had undergone a painful operation in the past and she was afraid of upcoming surgery.
Normally, the patients are not allowed to bring personal items into the operation theatre. However, the surgeon decided to break the rule and let her play on the mobile phone as a distraction.
'She was happy, she was very curious and she took some photos of the surgery,' Dr Zhu recalled.
The surgeon said that the patient also browsed her friends' social media updates during the surgery.
Her phone was sterilized by alcohol swipes.
The doctor said the phone had been kept at a distance of 5.9 inches from the patient's wound and that it would not affect the outcome of the surgical procedure.
The operation took half an hour and was a success.
The patient left the hospital the same day.