The first ever head transplant is set to take place in 2017. Thirty-year old Russian Valery Spiridonov has agreed to undergo the procedure; he has the muscle atrophying disease Werdnig-Hoffmann which has caused him to be wheelchair-bound.
The doctor who plans to lead the estimated 36-hour surgery is Italian neurosurgeon Dr. Sergio Canavero who published a white paper on the topic in June.
In it, he describes the operation where the team would first detach both heads then connect the recipient’s circulatory system to the donor’s head. Canavero acknowledges the biggest challenge to be the spinal cord reconnection, but he believes advancements in medicine will help to overcome this.
Spiridonov has been told that two additional years are needed to finalize the plans. While many experts in the field have expressed their skepticism, Canavero says there is a 90 percent chance the surgery will be a success.
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