In 2017, Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero plans to perform the first ever complex operation, during which he will transplant the head of a living patient onto the body of the deceased.
The operation will be carried out in several stages. The subject, who voluntarily became a programmer from Russia Valery, says that his family did not immediately accept his decision, since such surgical interventions had not been performed before. Valery believes that he has nothing to lose:
-Am I afraid? Of course, I'm very scared, but I simply have no other option. It's not terrible, but rather interesting. I will be very happy if the experiment is successful, after which I will be able to live like a normal, full-fledged person. Otherwise, my torment will end. If I miss this chance, then my fate will be extremely sad. I feel worse every day.
S. Canavero himself believes that his operation will be successful. At the moment, he continues to receive letters from those wishing to find a new body, but initially he is going to help precisely those who suffer from muscular dystrophy, which from birth does not allow Valery to live normally.
The operation will be carried out as follows
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First, it should be noted that the implementation of such a complex surgical intervention will take doctors 36 hours. The cost of the intervention is seven and a half million euros. A person whose brain is biologically dead and whose body is in perfect physical condition will be used as a donor. The donor will definitely be completely healthy and free of bad habits during life.
Before the operation, the bodies of both (the donor and the patient) will be cooled to fifteen degrees, which will help to avoid death and protect the internal organs from various types of damage. First of all, the surgeon will cut the skin, muscles and blood vessels located in the neck. Then it will disconnect the bones without damaging the spinal cord. With the help of special devices, the heads are fixed on the bodies, and only then they are cut with a special blade, which will be made specially for such an operation, with the back of the brain. Then Valery's head will be transplanted onto the donor's body and the spinal cord is “soldered” with polyethylene glycol. At the end of the operation, the surgeon will connect the vessels and muscles, as well as the skin. The patient will have to be immobile for 3-4 weeks while his spinal cord fuses with the donor's spinal cord. To stimulate the spinal cord, the surgeon plans to use special electrodes.
After coming out of a coma, the patient will be able to control the head in a standard and normal way, as well as the whole body that he will receive. By the way, Valery will speak in the same voice. Head sensitivity should return almost immediately. In the future, Valery will have to undergo a course of psychotherapy, which will help him recover not only physically, but also psychologically. The surgeon already has several volunteers for the role of a body donor, so there will be no problems with finding a donor. The only thing that now holds back the surgeon and Valery is the location of the operation. So far, no state has dared to take responsibility and allow a head transplant on its territory.