World's First Head Transplant and Challenges of Attempting It

So, it is finally happening in December, the world’s first head transplant. It is undoubtedly a scary sight, seeing someone getting decapitated and their head getting attached to some other body. We know the risks of a never-before-attempted head transplant. There are many risks involved in the first head transplant. Sergio Canavero, the surgeon behind the idea, is attempting the first operation.

Challenges of World’s First Head Transplant

The leading doctor behind the idea is Dr. Sergio Canavero. He wants to go ahead with the idea of attempting the world’s first head transplant. He is working on this plan for many years. He is also behind a paper published back in 2013. The paper discusses in detail the idea behind the head transplant surgery.

There are many surgeons teamed up to work with him and make it possible. A Chinese surgeon also accompanies him. Dr. Xiaoping is going to work with him to oversee the complicated surgical procedure. There are speculations about the place where the doctors can carry the big operation. Two of the proposed locations include Vietnam or the United Kingdom.

Volunteer for the Operation

Apparently it is the highest level of risk that any surgery can involve thus decapitating someone’s head would make it very difficult to attach back. A man 30 years of age from Russia named Valery Spiridonov is volunteering for the operation. He currently has a rare muscular disease that has severely impacted his movement. He hopes that this procedure would help him get back to his routine life like everyone else.

Criticism by the Scientific Community

Many of the surgeons and doctors from around the world know the risks involved. They are openly sharing their reservations about head transplant surgery. They think that it would not yield success since it is next to impossible. They feel despite making new connections the head with fail to properly connect with a new body. Some others have the opinion that even if the operation does become successful, the patient may go insane.

Challenges to Overcome

There are different nerves, veins, and nerves involved in this operation. Therefore, the doctors would have to work tirelessly to make sure that everything goes smooth. Similarly, the surgeons would have to use an exceptional blade to make cuts with millimeter accuracy.

Therefore, even if the person gets back on their feet, they have serious health and fitness problems. Once the doctors attach the head to the new body, they will have to keep the body in a coma for one month. Therefore, many believe that the new body may never awake and get out of the coma.