First Human Head
Transplant
In 2017, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero will attempt to perform the first human head transplant. He first managed to experiment with animal and human corpses for about 20 years until now. In 2015, he said he would attempt to operate the first human head transplant on a live patient.
After what he said, chinese researches grafted the head of a monkey onto a new body, “building” a new body with a new head. Because of this experiment, Canavero’s objective gained some credibility.
The patient is called Valery Spiridonov, a 30-year-old Russian man with Werdnig-Hoffmann disease (which is the most severe type of spinal muscular problem or atrophy) and declining health who has offered his head for Canavero’s studies. Canavero was criticised negatively and there were doubts from experts about his objective to do the first human head transplant.
The procedure involves cooling the head and body to -15°C to extend the time that their cells can survive without oxygen, which is important for avoiding neurological damage. As soon as tissue around the neck has been separated, major blood vessels are linked using tiny tubes, before the spinal cords of each person are cut (with high precision, using a knife developed to cut a micrometre of width) and the head is transferred onto its new body. This new combined body is fused together using polyethylene glycol to “paste” both ends of spinal cord and encourage nerve growth.This operation is followed by injections of the same chemical over a period of several hours.
If the patient survives to this operation, measures need to be taken to prevent the body’s immune system from rejecting the head. The person is kept in coma for three or four weeks to ensure that the body is completely stationary. The body is implanted with electrons to help the nerve connections get strong. After a year, the person should be able to walk.
If this surgery is successful, knowledge will be gained for future operations or surgeries so they could get improved.
without oxygen, which is important for avoiding neurological damage. As soon as the tissue around the neck has been separated, major blood vessels are linked using tiny tubes, before the spinal cords of each person are cut (with high precision, using a knife developed to cut a micrometre of width) and the head is transferred onto its new body. This new combined body is fused together using polyethylene glycol to “paste” both ends of spinal cord and encourage nerve growth.This operation is followed by injections of the same chemical over a period of several hours.
If the patient survives to this operation, measures need to be taken to prevent the body’s immune system from rejecting the head. The person is kept in coma for three or four weeks to ensure that the body is completely stationary.
implanted with electrons to help the nerve connections get strong. After a year, the person should be able to walk.
If this surgery is successful, knowledge will be gained for future operations or surgeries so they could get improved.
The body is implanted withelectrons to help the nerve connections get strong. After a year, the person should be able to walk.
If this surgery is successful, knowledge will be gained for future operations or surgeries so they could get improved..
By: Esteban Daniel