Remember that episode of The Golden Girls when Rose makes Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia promise to have their heads frozen when they die so they could be transplanted onto bodies and re-animated in the future? (Dorothy: "We look like a reunion of Henry VIII's wives...")
An Italian surgeon has claimed that human head transplants will be available in as little as two years. Dr. Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group told media that the heads of deceased people that have been cryogenically frozen can be successfully grafted onto the bodies of the recently deceased and "brought back to life", Frankenstein-style!
The procedure is currently in the development stages and is a hope for people suffering from advanced cancer or degenerative muscle conditions. Dr. Canavero plans to announce the ambitious endeavor at the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeon's conference in June. Canavero explained that the recipient's head and donor body would be cooled at the start of the procedure in order to extend the amount of time human cells and tissue could survive without a supply of oxygen. The spinal cords would then be severed and the head would be attached to the new body. Blood vessels would be reattached via tiny tubes to restore the blood flow.
The patient would then be placed in a medically-induced coma for four to six weeks to prevent the patient from moving and to give the body time to heal. The surgeon believes once the patient awoke, he/she would possess their sense of touch and smell and speak in the same voice. He believes the patient would be able to re-program the new body to walk and move freely within a year with intense physical therapy. Anti-rejection medications would be needed to ensure the new hybrid body could survive.
Canavero is unsure if medical ethics would allow the procedure to be performed in Europe or the United States, but is confident that the surgery would be possible somewhere in the world.
An Italian surgeon has claimed that human head transplants will be available in as little as two years. Dr. Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group told media that the heads of deceased people that have been cryogenically frozen can be successfully grafted onto the bodies of the recently deceased and "brought back to life", Frankenstein-style!
The procedure is currently in the development stages and is a hope for people suffering from advanced cancer or degenerative muscle conditions. Dr. Canavero plans to announce the ambitious endeavor at the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeon's conference in June. Canavero explained that the recipient's head and donor body would be cooled at the start of the procedure in order to extend the amount of time human cells and tissue could survive without a supply of oxygen. The spinal cords would then be severed and the head would be attached to the new body. Blood vessels would be reattached via tiny tubes to restore the blood flow.
The patient would then be placed in a medically-induced coma for four to six weeks to prevent the patient from moving and to give the body time to heal. The surgeon believes once the patient awoke, he/she would possess their sense of touch and smell and speak in the same voice. He believes the patient would be able to re-program the new body to walk and move freely within a year with intense physical therapy. Anti-rejection medications would be needed to ensure the new hybrid body could survive.
Canavero is unsure if medical ethics would allow the procedure to be performed in Europe or the United States, but is confident that the surgery would be possible somewhere in the world.