Controversial head transplant plan to be announced soon

Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero is set to reveal details of his controversial head transplant in September.

Valery Spiridonov suffers from a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy. Photo: Reuters.

According to the International Business Times, Canavero's first patient, Valery Spiridonov, 31, shared about the surgery at a press conference organized by Russia's Rossiya Segonya news agency. "I often talk to Canavero to exchange information. As far as I know, he is preparing to reveal some information in September this year," Spiridonov said.

Canavero is currently planning to perform the world's first head transplant in December 2017. However, the details of the surgery are still being kept secret. Many experts have strongly criticized this plan. They say that the plan is unfeasible and unethical.

Computer engineer Spiridonov suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy that causes Spiridonov's muscles to degenerate and for which doctors have no cure. At the press conference, Spiridonov presented his latest wheelchair project, an automated system that could improve the lives of patients. Spiridonov said his and Canavero's projects complement each other and that head transplants will not be widely available.

Dr. Canavero plans to perform the world's first head transplant in December 2017. Photo: Chip.

Details of the head transplant have not been made public. Since first announcing the plan in February 2015, Canavero has only briefly outlined how the operation would be carried out. The patient’s head would be cooled to -15 degrees Celsius. Both the patient’s and the donor’s heads would then be cut off and reattached. After the spinal cord is reattached, the surgeon would stabilize the muscles and blood supply.

The patient will be placed in a coma for about a month to immobilize the neck, while the spine is stimulated with electrodes to strengthen neural connections. Canavero expects the patient to be able to walk within a year of the surgery.

Canavero's critics say his plan is unlikely to work for a number of reasons. The main reason is the complexity of the spinal cord connection.

However, earlier this year, a team of surgeons in China claimed to have successfully performed a head transplant on a monkey. Images shared by Canavero showed the monkey with its head sewn onto another body. The team, led by Professor Xiaoping Ren of Harbin Medical University, said the monkey had no neurological damage and had lived for 20 days before being euthanized. But they have not yet attempted to reconnect the animal's spinal cord.

"If Canavero really found a breakthrough technique to reconnect the spinal cord, why didn't he apply it to people with spinal injuries before trying head transplants? I think Canavero's plan is just an unrealistic fantasy," said Alberto Delitala, president of the Italian Neurosurgery Association.

According to VNE