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Man volunteers for world first head transplant operation

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B

bjork

Member
I am curious to see if this actually works, like everyone else. It's weird to think about.

I figured we'd have something else first, like storing your consciousness on an SD card and being put into a robot body or something.
 
D

Despera

Banned
Dr. Canavero has this to say to critics:

Canavero has also been quick to dismiss critics who do not believe the operation will work and has suggested anyone opposed to the idea should travel to Valery's hometown in the Russian city of Vladimir, east of Moscow, to see for themselves.

"No problem. Come to Vladimir, Russia. I will tie you up to Valery's wheelchair, you will poo and pee the way he does, you will sleep the way he does, for 24 hours, OK? After 24 hours, I will ask you 'do you still believe that this is going to be a crazy project?' and I can bet you 100 to one that it is possible he will change his mind," he told Reuters in his studio in the northern Italian city of Turin.

Canavero says the key to the procedure is a sharp severance of the spinal cords. The head needs to be removed with a sharp blade, causing minimal damage to the spinal cords. Speed, too, is of essence, he says.

"Actually, as everybody knows by now, the head will be cooled and there won't be a single drop of blood inside so he will be clinically dead, as dead as it gets as I said in my TEDx talk. And actually this momentary absence of circulation is, it's actually momentary because the two gurneys will be like this in the same room, so the head will gravitate for just a few seconds until the surgeon will start reconnecting the head to the new body," he said.
Click to expand...

More at the link including a video snippet of an interview with the neurosurgeon:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/neurosurge...ow-frontier-breaking-head-transplant-1497034#

FxmhEgi.jpg


Is it me... or does he look an awful lot like this guy from MGS5: TPP?

GuQZUJE.jpg
 
L

Limit

Member
The project is scheduled for christmas 2017. Hmmm. The surgeon might change his time by the time he is done preparing for the procedure and comes to realization with current tech he won't be able to do it. Good on him and the patient though. We need someone to be willing to push the boundaries.
 
U

Ushay

Member
Total bullshit, disconnecting the spine and then reconnecting it? Nerve tissue is the one thing humans have never been able to replace. Not to mention the blood supply to the brain/head.

This won't end well unfortunately.
 
T

typist

Member
Head transplants were first done successfully in the 1950s.

14246845957159.jpg


The notes portray a lively, puppy like, if not altogether joyous existence on the part of the head:

09:00 The donor's head eagerly drank water or milk, and tugged as if trying to separate itself from the recipient's body.

22:30 When the recipient was put to bed, the transplanted head bit the finger of a member of the staff until it bled.

February 26, 18:00. The donor's head bit the recipient behind the ear, so that the latter yelped and shook its head.

Demikhov's transplant subjects were typically done in by immune reactions
Click to expand...

Heart transplants have also been known to fail due to the reactions of the immune system, though I remember reading somewhere that these fatal reactions had been solved, through genetic modification I think. Presumably the same can be done for modern head transplants. The doctor in question also seems fairly certain he can restore motor control to the patient so (while horror movie-esque) this procedure will really be a marvel of modern medical science, if successful. I imagine this particular doctor must have got funding to test the procedure on a non-human animal too, would just be too crazy otherwise.

In any case, this is promising news for people interested in indefinite life extension. Human organs are already being 3D printed today so it's not inconceivable that entire (headless) bodies could be 3D printed in the future, though that's a long way away. Heads might then be transplanted to such 3D printed bodies and any non-head related illnesses could be eradicated, though brain tumours and so on might still be a problem. A separate problem that medical scientists will eventually (hopefully) fix. The biggest concern is how this will affect inequality between the rich and the poor, the procedure is very expensive. Will we live to see a world where the 1% live hundreds of years and nobody else does? That would be lousy
 
E

exmachina64

Banned
Ushay said:
Total bullshit, disconnecting the spine and then reconnecting it? Nerve tissue is the one thing humans have never been able to replace. Not to mention the blood supply to the brain/head.

This won't end well unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Don't you get it? It's not real, it's all connected to that goddamn game. Kojima was fired and we're still discovering viral shit he's done.
 
M

Marty-esque

Member
typist said:
Head transplants were first done successfully in the 1950s.

14246845957159.jpg




Heart transplants have also been known to fail due to the reactions of the immune system, though I remember reading somewhere that these fatal reactions had been solved, through genetic modification I think. Presumably the same can be done for modern head transplants. The doctor in question also seems fairly certain he can restore motor control to the patient so (while horror movie-esque) this procedure will really be a marvel of modern medical science, if successful. I imagine this particular doctor must have got funding to test the procedure on a non-human animal too, would just be too crazy otherwise.

In any case, this is promising news for people interested in indefinite life extension. Human organs are already being 3D printed today so it's not inconceivable that entire (headless) bodies could be 3D printed in the future, though that's a long way away. Heads might then be transplanted to such 3D printed bodies and any non-head related illnesses could be eradicated, though brain tumours and so on might still be a problem. A separate problem that medical scientists will eventually (hopefully) fix. The biggest concern is how this will affect inequality between the rich and the poor, the procedure is very expensive. Will we live to see a world where the 1% live hundreds of years and nobody else does? That would be lousy
Click to expand...
wtf is this? They put another head on a dog? The dog had two heads?
 
E

exmachina64

Banned
H

Haribi

Why isn't there a Star Wars RPG? And wouldn't James Bond make for a pretty good FPS?
So what happens when you take the head of a 80 year old and transplant it on a 20 year old body?

Which part determines the "real" age of the person? How long would he live, how fast would the body age?

Let's say that person would normally die at 90. So would he live another 10 years or 70 years?
 
E

exmachina64

Banned
Haribi said:
So what happens when you take the head of a 80 year old and transplant it on a 20 year old body?

Which part determines the "real" age of the person? How long would he live, how fast would the body age?

Let's say that person would normally die at 90. So would he live another 10 years or 70 years?
Click to expand...

The brain would still suffer deterioration and diseases from old age.
 
A

adamsappel

Member
What is supposed to happen if it only-partially works and the patient wakes up and, say, is in constant agony, or has suffered terrible brain damage, etc.?
 
G

GravyButt

Member
Hmm so how is the oxygen and blood to the brain going to work? It would clearly be a well over 24 hour surgery. Hes also going to need to cut arteries and veins perfectly as well or else blood flow issues like blood clots or severe migraines would occur. Not to mention what about all the neuro transmission. Shits whack.

Not sure if theres a scientific research that knows this, but would mans brain know how to operate another mans nerves and parhways? As far as I know the only way to create "new" pathways is time and super high doseages of omega 3 fatty acids, and even that isn't fully known why or if effective in only certain cases. Not to mention its not going to repair the damaged ones done in by the cutting. Someone also mentioned residual hormones. A very valid point, same with enzymes of the body contaminating the brain and vice versa. Also the hypothalamus would be completely out of whack and youd either cook your body or go into hypothermia in minutes because your brain couldnt regulate the organs properly, wont matter what kind of drugs or blankets ect the docs give you.

Didn't check the gaming thread, but is this actually real or some viral stuff for the new MGS?
 
A

Agent Gibbs

Member
kadotsu said:
How can this be possible? How will they connect the spine?
Click to expand...

Thats something i was wondering, they can't currently repair spinal damage, even if its a clean sever, so how would they reattach one in a head transplant? (although really this sounds like a body transplant....)
If he can then surely this has implications for paralysis victims?
 
V

velociraptor

Junior Member
Agent Gibbs said:
Thats something i was wondering, they can't currently repair spinal damage, even if its a clean sever, so how would they reattach one in a head transplant? (although really this sounds like a body transplant....)
If he can then surely this has implications for paralysis victims?
Click to expand...

How did they perform a dog head transplant in the 50s?

A monkey's head was also once transmitted by an American neurosurgeon. However, I think it was paralysed.

Severing the head = upper and lower body paralysis, no matter what this neurosurgeon claims.
 
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