“Will I be able to play the banjo after surgery?” (joke)

AN old joke has a patient ask his doctor, “Will I be able to play the piano after the operation?” The doctor assures him “yes,” and the patient says, “That’s great! I was never able to play the piano before the operation!”
 
A banjo variation has the doctor question the patient’s sanity for even thinking of playing the instrument. This was included in “The Canonical List of Banjo Jokes” on the newsgroup Google Groups: rec.humor on September 19, 1991:
 
“I recently had surgery on my hand, and asked the doctor if, after surgery, I would be able to play the banjo. He said, ‘I’m doing surgery on your hand, not giving you a lobotomy.’”
   
         
Google Groups: rec.humor
_Banjo Jokes_
Darrell Reich
9/19/91
The Canonical List of Banjo Jokes
(...)
(61.) I recently had surgery on my hand, and asked the doctor if, after surgery, I would be able to play the banjo. He said, “I’m doing surgery on your hand, not giving you a lobotomy.”
 
Google Books
The Musician’s Joke Book:
Knowing the Score
By N. J. Groce
London, UK: Omnibus Press
1996
Pg. 196:
Recently, I had to have surgery on my hand, and so I asked the doctor if I would be able to play the banjo afterwards. “Probably not,” replied the doctor. “I’m just operating on your hand, I’m not giving you a lobotomy.
 
Google Groups: alt.banjo
A joke from jokes2go.com
O==’=::
8/16/00
I recently had surgery on my hand, and asked the doctor if, after surgery, I would be able to play the banjo. He said that he didn’t think it would be a problem! Then, I told the doc, that would be great, because I never could play the banjo before!
 
Twitter
Dennis Andrews
@MrDennisAndrews
Had surgery on my hand & asked the doc if I would be able to play the banjo.He said,“I’m operating on your hand,not giving you a lobotomy.”
4:10 PM - 18 Oct 2010
 
Facebook
Vel Tharma
February 3, 2018 ·
I recently had surgery on my hand, and asked the doctor if, after surgery, I would be able to play the banjo.
 
He said, “I’m doing surgery on your hand, not giving you a lobotomy.”
 
Twitter
lorraine Jo King
@LahLahBean
I recently had surgery on my hand, and asked the doctor if, after surgery, I would be able to play the banjo. He said, “I’m doing surgery on your hand, not giving you a lobotomy.” #jokes
8:09 AM - 13 Jul 2018