Hi! My dear Steemians friends, welcome to my first series on medical series, where we will know more about advancement in medical sciences.
As we have heard about kidney transplant, heart transplant and lungs transplant. But have you ever heard about head transplant? Yes an Italian neuroscientist Sergio Canavero has announced that he will perform a head transplant surgery on 2017 December, a shocking news to the whole world that will create a history. An estimated of 10 million euros will be used in this surgery.
Lets start with head transplant surgery on animals.
As we all are shocked about this news, nut there has been some successful head transplant surgery on rats, dogs and monkeys. Those head transplant surgery were done from a long time ago when medical sciences was just evolving. World's first head transplant surgery was done about 50 years ago by Dr Robert White, a surgeon at Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine in 1970. The monkey survived for 9 days with life support and then the head started rejecting the new body and spinal cord was not able to reconnect and monkey was paralysed. But now the advancement in medical sciences has invented many medicines that will prevent rejection and repair spinal cord.
ok now, who is the head donor?
He is a 30 year old computer engineer Valery Spiridonov from Russia who is suffering from a rare motor-neuron disease called Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease (spinal muscle atrophy) where the motor neurons (nerve transferring signals from brain to extremities that helps in muscle movement) degeneration. This disease causes muscle atrophy and progressively weakness in chewing swallowing and breathing. This disease has no treatment until now and people suffering from this disease has usually life expectancy of 20 years. he is now in his 3rd decade of life and wants a better life. Being a computer scientist he is happy to be a part in this surgery and is well aware of its risks and procedure.
Fig: Valery Spiridonov (credits)
This surgery has lots of risks and uncertainties. Canavero will be teaming up with Xiaoping Ren, a neurosurgeon from China’s Harbin Medical University who has done more than 1000 mice head transplant, they well able to see drink and walk but survived only few minutes. There was risk of death on every first attempt like while sending Yuri gagrin to space and neil armstrong to moon.
So talking about the procedures:
Fig:Head transplant procedure (credits)
As the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen during surgery both the bodies (donors head and recipient body) are cooled to -15 degree celcius so that minimal damage occurs to the brain tissues . Then the major blood vessels of neck i.e carotid artery and juglar veins are connected to donors head . Then a very sharp diamond blade is used to cut the spinal cord with less than 10 newton force . Then why are sharp blades used? because stabbing spinal injury recovers faster than blunt spinal injury. Can spinal cord work without brain? If the spinal coed is stimulated electrically the short motor neuron works, like in an orchestra without director the musician can still play music. After the head is cut off then it is stitched to recipients body and the hardest part is healing of spinal cord.
How can it be healed?
Fig: Polyethyelene glycol
It is healed using polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used. PEG helps recovery and fusion of neurons without the perfect alignment of nerve fibres. It is also excellent lubricant in medical field. Is the person dead while surgery? Yes, the person is dead and brought back to life. The donor will have a near death experience. A dead brain is brought to life, this will also be a great achievement in human history.
Then the blood vessels and muscle are sewed together. The patient is kept in coma for 3-4 weeks so that there is faster healing and spinal cord are electrically stimulated for recovery of spinal nerves.he will be given immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of spinal cord.
What will happen when he wakes up?
he will have same personality but different body. he will have experienced a near death experience. his thoughts memories remains same. lets wait for his answers for now. hope this surgery goes well. And in my view this surgery will have many unanswered question and a dead person will be brought to life, a great miracle so this risky surgery should be done as not taking any risk is the greatest risk in life.