A head transplant is a surgical operation involving the grafting of one's organism's head onto the body of another. Head transplants have been successfully performed on dogs, monkeys and rats by surgeons, although all the animals were unable to move and died shortly afterwards.
An Italian neurosurgeon named Dr. Sergio Canavero said that human head transplant is possible and is not far from reality. He vows that the first ever human head transplantation will occur this year, amidst sharp criticisms and accusations that his claims are mere publicity.
The said doctor was able to gather a multinational team of surgeons composed of doctors from China, Russia, and South Korea. He bears an uncanny resemblance with this doctor from Metal Gear Solid.
Dr. Canavero found Valery Spirodonov, a Russian willing patient who suffers from a degenerative muscle disease. The patient had been using virtual reality-assisted technology to prepare for drastic changes after surgery. However, a Chinese patient will be undergoing the procedure first which will occur in December 2017.
Dr. Canavero cites the possibility of the surgery following a similar procedure performed on a beagle with a severed spinal cord. The study demonstrated functional recovery three weeks after the surgery.
The surgeons plan to cool the bodies enough to delay neuronal injury and preserve brain function, then sever the soft tissues in the neck region. Blood vessels will then be connected to tubes to ensure continuous blood flow, and the spinal cord will be cut using a diamond knife. Once the donor’s head is completely detached from the body, a biocompatible glue will be used on the spinal cord to fuse the patient’s head with the deceased donor’s body. Following the surgery, the patient will be put in a four-week long drug-induced coma to allow the connection to heal.
Dr. Canavero’s team has to consider obstacles that may be met during the procedure. For example, the head, unlike other organs such as the kidneys and the liver, cannot survive on its own after being detached from the body. Also, there is the problem of spinal cord fusion and the serious post-transplant rejection.
Other experts cite the possibility of a severe form of insanity owing to the overwhelming disparity in the donor’s and recipient’s brain chemistry.
Source: EliteReaders
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