Man to Have Head Transplant Surgery, May Wake Up Insane

rockin'robin

rockin'robin

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A Russian man named Valery Spiridonov has volunteered to be the first person ever to receive a complete head transplant. The surgery is expected to take 36 hours and involve 150 doctors and nurses. Spiridonov was chosen over others for the procedure after Skyping with controversial Italian doctor, Sergio Canavaro.

Canavaro’s optimistic plans have mostly been met with skepticism by other medical experts. Some have compared him to Frankenstein.

“Am I afraid?” Spiridonov says, about the head transplant surgery. “Yes, of course, [but] you have to understand that I don’t really have many choices. If I don’t try this chance, my fate will be very sad. With every year my state is getting worse.”

The head transplant works by removing the head of the patient and transplanting it onto the body of someone who is brain dead but still has a functioning body. This procedure has only been tested so far on a monkey in 1970, and the results were less than successful. Despite this fact, Canavaro claims that all the necessary science and technology is there for him to succeed with a human: “I think we are now at a point when the technical aspects are all feasible,” he said.

“I would not wish this on anyone,” said Dr. Hunt Batjer, a naysayer and president elect of the American Association for Neurological Surgeons. “I would not allow anyone to do it to me as there are a lot of things worse than death.”

Many experts say that fusing a head onto a different body could result in an intense level and quality of insanity.

Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University’s Langone Medical Centre has described Dr. Canavero as “nuts.” He believes that the bodies of head transplant patients “would end up being overwhelmed with different pathways and chemistry than they are used to and they’d go crazy.”

http://firsttoknow.com/head-transplant-surgery/?utm_source=facebookpage
 
I wonder if the transplant is successful that the recipient will say, "I'm having an out of body experience!"
 
I don't think this procedure is going to be successful.
 
It wouldn't be a head transplant--it would be a whole-body transplant. The patient keeps his own head--it's the body that gets swapped out (not a transplant either because it's not put into his body--it IS the body).

I don't see how all the neurological connections could be made successfully.

Also, what disease does this person have that would be "cured" by removing the entire body?

I suppose the insanity part could be treated by keeping the patient in an induced coma while the surgery heals. Then, bring him out slowly, and even then keep him highly sedated until he's ready for therapy.

All that being said, anyone who thought this was a good idea must have already awakened insane. :lol:
 
Reba said:
It wouldn't be a head transplant--it would be a whole-body transplant. The patient keeps his own head--it's the body that gets swapped out (not a transplant either because it's not put into his body--it IS the body).

I don't see how all the neurological connections could be made successfully.

Also, what disease does this person have that would be "cured" by removing the entire body?

I suppose the insanity part could be treated by keeping the patient in an induced coma while the surgery heals. Then, bring him out slowly, and even then keep him highly sedated until he's ready for therapy.

All that being said, anyone who thought this was a good idea must have already awakened insane. :lol:
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When I saw the title I thought this had to be the Russian ! Do you remember the story of the ' two head ' dog' ? The Russian gave a GS a second head both dogs dies . :(
This was in 1959 .
 
I read elsewhere when I was doing a search that the surgery hasn't even taken place- not until at least 2017. The surgeon doesn't have any supporters for the reason Reba stated-- how every neural pathway will be connected. If medical science is still working on repairing the spinal cord completely after paralysis I don't see how this would be successful. The trial on the monkey wasn't successful at all.
 
I dont think its possible but its not far from being possible. Medical technology had advanced so much. If it werent for today technology, I probably will already be laying bed for good.
Yes, they have identified nerves in spinal cord already, I know cause its what doctors told me. It was rather interesting. Thats why I said technolgy is within reach at this time. But the idea of head on other body sounds way too creepy. Also, the brain been programmed with body a, and it wont be able to easily reprogramming for body b... sigh... creepy!
 
I don't see how this could even be considered to be successful. Once the spine has been severed the nerves die almost instantly and pull inside themselves so after decapitating him and technically killing him how do they think the body will function after the transplant if the other patient is brain dead how can they know if the body is viable and can breathe on their on or move or do anything.

And the article says that they will fuse the spinal cord and nerves back together but say if he isn't some accident later on and his jugular after they fuse it rips then he's going to die with a matter of seconds.

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Russian Man Ready To Undergo The World's First Head Transplant

Liver transplants and heart transplants, while still complicated and potentially dangerous, are fairly commonplace these days. But a head transplant? That sounds like something out of science fiction.

But as CNN reports, one doctor in Italy says he has it all figured out and is moving ahead with plans to perform the world’s first human head transplant by 2017.

Dr. Sergio Canavero is working now to secure the money needed to perform the procedure. He hopes that through crowd-funding and proceeds from book sales he will soon be able to pay for the team and facility needed to perform the amazingly complicated procedure.

It is expected to cost roughly $11 million.

Canavero will also to have secure a partner for the operation. According to CNN, he hopes to impress the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons (AANOS) when he presents at the annual conference this summer. If he does impress the academy, he could be approved to do the surgery in 2017. However, if he does not, he will reportedly pursue other partners in China.

If Canavero is able to secure both the funding and a partner, he will then put together a team of 150 nurses and doctors.

One thing Canavero doesn't have to worry about is finding the first patient. He has already found him: Valery Spiridonov. A 30-year-old Russian computer programmer, Spiridonov suffers from a rare muscle-wasting disorder known as Werdnig-Hoffman disease.

Spiridonov spoke with the Daily Mail recently and said he is well aware of the risks, but he is undergoing the procedure in an effort to advance science. At 30 he has already lived about 10 years longer than most people diagnosed with his genetic disorder.

“Am I afraid? Yes, of course I am,” he told the Daily Mail. “But it is not just very scary, but also very interesting.

“But you have to understand that I don't really have many choices,” he added. “If I don't try this chance my fate will be very sad. With every year my state is getting worse.”

Spiridonov said he has never met Canavero, but they have been trading emails and talking on Skype for years. Despite the CNN report, Spiridonov thinks the procedure could happen as early as 2016.

Regardless of when it is performed, the surgery is expected to last about 36 hours. Spiridonov’s head will be removed from his body and placed onto the healthy, brain dead body of a donor patient.

According to CNN, Canavero cites, in his academic writing on the subject, experiments in which the heads of monkeys and rats have been successfully transplanted.

Critics claim, though, the monkey head transplant wasn’t as successful as Canavero seems to imply. It’s a big leap from that 45-year-old monkey experiment to what Canavero is proposing, said Dr. Hunt Batjer, who is chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern.

"I would not wish this on anyone, I would not allow anyone to do it to me, there are a lot of things worse than death," Batjer told CNN.

Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of medical ethics at New York University Langone Medical Center. He told CNN Canavero is “nuts” and he has failed to think through everything that could go wrong.

“It's not like you can unscrew your head and put it on someone else,” Caplan said

But Spiridonov is undaunted.

Whether successful or not, he believes there is much to be learned from the surgery. He said he doesn’t figure he has much longer to live and the surgery at least gives him a chance at a new body. Should he not survive the procedure, Canavero, and others, will still learn from the surgery, he said.

“If you want something to be done, you need to participate in it,” Spiridonov told the Daily Mail.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/health/russian-man-ready-undergo-worlds-first-head-transplant
 
sometimes nature must run its course we all die and that what he should come to terms with
 
whatdidyousay! said:
When I saw the title I thought this had to be the Russian ! Do you remember the story of the ' two head ' dog' ? The Russian gave a GS a second head both dogs dies . :(
This was in 1959 .
Click to expand...

Yeah, it doesn't last longer. :eek3:
 
PowerON said:
Yeah, it doesn't last longer. :eek3:
Click to expand...

the-house-of-frankenstein.jpg




This remind of this ! LOL!
 
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