Staff Writer
The
first recorded surgery took place in the Neolithic Stone Age about 12,000 years
ago. The human race has progressed substantially from that time. Modern medical
specialists not only deal with current ailments, but also explore the
boundaries of possibilities with the human body. Today, Italian physician, Dr.
Sergio Canavero has proposed a new idea that if successful, may revolutionize
the medical field for years to come.
The
neurosurgeon proposes human head transplantation. Created with the aim to aid
those with muscle wasting diseases or other bodily problems, Canavero wants to
give the disabled a chance with a new healthy body. He will use a brain-dead
body as the vessel and attach the conscious head from a diseased body.
With
Canavero’s procedure, surgeons will sever the spinal cords of the people
participating in the operation. Then, taking the healthy head from the diseased
body, they will fuse it to the healthy body that previously was attached to a
brain-dead head. A successful procedure will give the recipient an able body
with perfectly working body parts, while keeping their previous consciousness.
Head transplantation has worked before on a few animals, but there are no
documented attempts on humans.
In
order for the operation to be possible, it will have to take place in
hypothermic conditions. For a bonding agent for the neck, the neurosurgeon will
fuse the parts together using cell-cell fusogens. Cell-cell fusogens are
glycoproteins that facilitate the fusion of cell to cell membranes. Once
everything is connected properly, an electric shock will be given to stimulate
the nerves for recovery.
Nothing
is set in stone. Canavero still has to pitch his idea to the American Academy
of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons (AANO) on June 13. If his proposal is
rejected then he will try to persuade interested endorsers in China to accept
his idea even if doing so sets him back a year. However if AANO gives the go
ahead, as he expects, he will begin finalizing his team of 150 medical
professionals and start training for the famed 36-hour operation. Canavero has
dubbed the procedure ‘head anastomosis venture’ or HEAVEN for short.
“I
say two years is the time needed for the team to reach perfect synchronization,”
says Canavero. This operation is raising a lot of ethical issues with other
medical professionals. Some have even gone as far to call him “nuts”.
The
claims are understandable considering the problems that could occur with the
operation. Anything from immune system rejection, to unstable techniques could
compromise the procedure. There are many critics out there that point out the
errors in this proposed operation, some even from an ethical standpoint.
“I
think it’s ludicrously stupid,” said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York
University. “You’d probably be charged with homicide if you chop somebody’s
head off before they’re dead.” Canavero first proposed this idea in 2013 and
has been promoting public awareness and gathering funds through book sales and
presentations. In 2014 he performed a TEDx Talk explaining his procedure. He
hopes to attempt human head transplantation by 2017.
