Man volunteers for world first head transplant operation - Polidicks

[url]https://au.news.yahoo.com/technology/a/27031329/man-volunteers-for-world-first-head-transplant-operation/[/url] [QUOTE] The Daily Mail reports Valery Spiridonov is prepared to put his life in the hands of controversial surgeon Sergio Canavero who says he can successful perform the world-first operation. Spiridonov, who suffers from a terminal muscle wasting disease, told Mail Online he was scared but the operation could offer him an opportunity to live while his genetic condition will kill him. “Am I afraid? Yes, of course I am,” he said. “But it is not just very scary but also very interesting … you have to understand that I don't really have many choices. "I am now 30 years old, although people rarely live to more than 20 with this disease." Dr Canavero made headlines earlier this year when he claimed the first human head transplant would be possible within the next two years. He says it is possible to severe the heads of a living patient and a brain dead patient, with an otherwise healthy body, and re-attach the spinal chords using a substance called polyethylene glycol. Dr Canavero and Mr Spiridonov have not yet met, however, the prospective patient says he is committed to following through with the operation. Claims of imminent head transplant surgery have been met with a range of reaction, ranging from skepticism to outright horror among members of the medical and ethical communities. However, Dr Canavero has said in the past that medicine is now technically ready for such an operation to be successful – the only hurdles remain in the ethics of the operation, “However, it is equally clear that horrible conditions without a hint of hope of improvement cannot be relegated to the dark corner of medicine," he wrote. Of course, the other major hurdle both doctor and patient face is the expected cost of the operation, which could easily stretch beyond $10 million. [/QUOTE]

Regardless of how it turns out the medical community will learn a LOT as long as he lives. And even if he's permanantly paralyzed he'll still be alive. He's paralyzed anyway right now.

He better be sure this is what he wants, a lot of people would lose their head over a decision like this.

[QUOTE=Megadave;47495612]He better be sure this is what he wants, a lot of people would lose their head over a decision like this.[/QUOTE] BOOOOOOOO

Why would it cost $10 million?

[QUOTE=Scot;47495661]Why would it cost $10 million?[/QUOTE] Just taking out a small organ is expensive. Now consider they're removing a person's entire head and reattaching it. You have to sever all of these muscles and nerves, without destroying them, then reattach all of them perfectly. An errant twitch with the knife could end this man's life in less than heartbeat. If this works, it will be one of the most legendary procedures to date.

-I'm very dumb-

[QUOTE=-Iker-;47495697]Is this his body to a new head transplant or his head to a new body transplant? Can't seem to find it in the article.[/QUOTE] He's got a muscular wasting disease, so I'm pretty sure he's not too keen on keeping his old skin suit.

his head to a new body, obviously. Otherwise he's not taking part in the transplant. I wonder how long they project the operation to last, I'd love a detailed timeline of their plan.

The medical problem though is you have to kill one person to save another, even if they are brain dead their body is not going to be in good shape at all and there's tons of laws protecting them, a simple organ donor card isn't going to cover this I bet

This would be absolutely amazing if anything at ALL was successful. We would learn a LOT even if the man was just able to blink his eyes, or breathe or SOMETHING.

I must say Dr Canavero has some balls to make such bold claims, but I really hope his confidence pays off as progress in this kind of shit must be made, and the sooner the better. Even if he does fail, it is still a result worthy of consideration for future procedures.

[QUOTE=Dalndox;47495715]He's got a muscular wasting disease, so I'm pretty sure he's not too keen on keeping his old skin suit.[/QUOTE] This is a picture of the guy. [img]http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article5480272.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/PAY-Russian-head-transplant-volunteer-Valery-Spiridonov.jpg[/img]

if this succeeds the implications are unfathomable

I hope it succeeds.

They should livestream the operation. I would actually pay cash money to watch this.

So uhh.. Who's going to willingly supply their body? Assuming the new body would have to be healthy to withstand the operation?

[QUOTE=Sableye;47495727]The medical problem though is you have to kill one person to save another, even if they are brain dead their body is not going to be in good shape at all and there's tons of laws protecting them, a simple organ donor card isn't going to cover this I bet[/QUOTE] It's not like they're going to harvest brain-dead people. There will probably be a list of people looking for a new body, and doctors will ask the families of people who have no chance to live that their loved ones body has a real chance to change someone's life for the better and if they want to donate it after pulling the plug. The hardest part would probably be keeping the donor body viable while the patient is flown in and prepped for the procedure.

[QUOTE=AncientFryup;47495830]So uhh.. Who's going to willingly supply their body? Assuming the new body would have to be healthy to withstand the operation?[/QUOTE] Bodies are a dime a dozen, there's dead people everywhere and it's not like they need their meatsuits any more, just pick a somewhat fresh one and make sure they didn't die of a heart attack or some shit. [editline]10th April 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=OvB;47495839]It's not like they're going to harvest brain-dead people. There will probably be a list of people looking for a new body, and doctors will ask the families of people who have no chance to live that their loved ones body has a real chance to change someone's life for the better and if they want to donate it after pulling the plug. The hardest part would probably be keeping the donor body viable while the patient is flown in and prepped for the procedure.[/QUOTE] Well, we could just extract all the blood and pump in ice cold saline, then the body wont really degrade much.

[QUOTE=Sableye;47495727]The medical problem though is you have to kill one person to save another, even if they are brain dead their body is not going to be in good shape at all and there's tons of laws protecting them, a simple organ donor card isn't going to cover this I bet[/QUOTE] if their family agrees to donate the brain dead's body, or if they have it in their will or something. Also you don't have to kill anybody, the person is brain dead.

Wow, this doctor is ahead of the times

Personally I doubt that this is going to end well, but trial and error is key to expanding our knowledge of the medical sciences. And if he doesn't make it, at least he won't have to suffer from his debilitating disease anymore. Godspeed, young man.

If it's gonna happen, it would probably be better to use obsidian scalpels rather than the usual surgical steel, since obsidian is said to have a much finer edge than regular scalpels, which would probably mean cleaner cuts for all the nerves, muscles and blood vessels in the subject's neck.

not to mention "Obsidian scalpel" sounds cool as fuck. also according to this google image [url]http://c2cwtnd.net/states/oregon/images/Obs05-Scalpel.jpg[/url] obsidian scalpels leave less scar tissue. Obviously important when you're talking about the spinal cord. then again, they're very brittle to any sort of lateral motion. Not likely to be a problem for a trained surgeon, but still.... [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8415970[/url] Then there's these, which are used in eye surgery: [url]http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/diamaze-diamond-tipped-razor-blades-can-literally-split-hairs-v/[/url] [QUOTE=RoflKawpter;47495729]This would be absolutely amazing if anything at ALL was successful. We would learn a LOT even if the man was just able to blink his eyes, or breathe or SOMETHING.[/QUOTE] your brain controls your eye movements through the oculomotor nerve, and possibly facial movements too. Breathing would be something, though. Wonder if they could create a pacemaker like device to electrically stimulate the diaphragm if it doesn't work so he could at least live without an iron lung

[QUOTE=Sableye;47495727]The medical problem though is you have to kill one person to save another, even if they are brain dead their body is not going to be in good shape at all and there's tons of laws protecting them, a simple organ donor card isn't going to cover this I bet[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]He says it is possible to severe the heads of a living patient and a [B]brain dead patient, with an otherwise healthy body[/B], and re-attach the spinal chords using a substance called polyethylene glycol.[/QUOTE]

Whether it succeeds or fails, this will help the medical community greatly.

[QUOTE=Nebukadnezzer;47495849]if their family agrees to donate the brain dead's body, or if they have it in their will or something. [B]Also you don't have to kill anybody, the person is brain dead[/B].[/QUOTE] ya thats totally gone without a massive shitstorm before like in florida or texas or california. i'm just saying its not going to be as easy as advertised and courts will no doubt step in

[QUOTE=Sableye;47495993]ya thats totally gone without a massive shitstorm before like in florida or texas or california. i'm just saying its not going to be as easy as advertised and courts will no doubt step in[/QUOTE] Not really, it's basically just extended organ donation, and if they're brain dead then the family can already legally decide to turn off life support. It's basically the same thing as that except instead of splitting up the organs you're just giving them all to one guy.

[QUOTE=Sableye;47495993]ya thats totally gone without a massive shitstorm before like in florida or texas or california. i'm just saying its not going to be as easy as advertised and courts will no doubt step in[/QUOTE] But you already have to "kill" the brain dead person to get other organs, the only difference here is that the paralyzed man has a high risk of dying through the process, but he has a terminal illness anyway.

[QUOTE=OvB;47495839]It's not like they're going to harvest brain-dead people. There will probably be a list of people looking for a new body, and doctors will ask the families of people who have no chance to live that their loved ones body has a real chance to change someone's life for the better and if they want to donate it after pulling the plug. The hardest part would probably be keeping the donor body viable while the patient is flown in and prepped for the procedure.[/QUOTE] if they're brain dead there'd be no point to pull the plug before the patient arrives