# Human head transplant



## Ooh-Rah (Aug 3, 2016)

Okay you Shadow Spear Doc and medical types...do you believe this to be possible?


World's first human head transplant patient awaiting new information


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## DocIllinois (Aug 3, 2016)

Oh, we're talking about _that_ head.



I agree with Dr. Canavero's plan to cool the donor and recipient for preservation.  I would argue that this is actually a body transplant since the head is the remaining functional part, but whatev.

Will Mr. Spiridonov really be the first "Frankenstein's monster," though?

World’s first head transplant to be carried out on Chinese patient next year


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Aug 3, 2016)

Man wouldn't that be crazy if it could be done, every freaking billionaire would be liningup with their 18 year old donors. "Hey I'll give you 10 million if you swap bodies with me." Fuckers would line up...


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## TLDR20 (Aug 3, 2016)

Diamondback 2/2 said:


> Man wouldn't that be crazy if it could be done, every freaking billionaire would be liningup with their 18 year old donors. "Hey I'll give you 10 million if you swap bodies with me." Fuckers would line up...



The brain will still deteriorate. I don't think this would be an option to prolong a very elderly life.


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## AWP (Aug 3, 2016)

If this worked, wouldn't it also provide the means to reverse/ repair spinal injuries?

("If" is a huge word here)


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Aug 3, 2016)

TLDR20 said:


> The brain will still deteriorate. I don't think this would be an option to prolong a very elderly life.


Come on dude, they gotta have a pill for that shit. People swapping heads and shit and we can't circulate some proteins and healthy cells in the brain. :-":wall:


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## Ooh-Rah (Aug 3, 2016)

Serious question- 

Say this were successful, could that also help people with terminal diseases?

I'm thinking not, because of the blood that also flows through the brain, but I am WAY beyond trying to discuss biology here.


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## AWP (Aug 3, 2016)

Ooh-Rah said:


> Say this were successful, could that also help people with terminal diseases?



Trump would still be an asshole and Clintons would still be crooks. Hakuna matata


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## Red Flag 1 (Aug 3, 2016)

Ooh-Rah said:


> Serious question-
> 
> Say this were successful, could that also help people with terminal diseases?
> 
> I'm thinking not, because of the blood that also flows through the brain, but I am WAY beyond trying to discuss biology here.



The quick answer is yes, but my confidence in success is very low. There are still ethical issues being debated. Funding is the next issue, this will require extensive post-op support.

For info on the disease this young man has : Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease - NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders).

As for the "first"  transplant: @DocIllinois, debunked that part of it.

The CNS hook-up is the biggest hurdle to get over. It would be fantastic, on the professional side,  to be part of this. As for the patient, he really has no other choice does he.

Blood flow can be handled via a pump, and the blood vessels can be sewed together, as can the windpipe and esophagus. I'd like to read what his plan is, and what research the doc has done on CNS anastomosis.

They did say that the monkey they did this with, they euthanized for "ethical" reasons. That sounds like a failed outcome to me.

I do think it has happened with some people. Despite having what looks like a normal head on their shoulders, I would swear that it is really a cabbage.


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## DocIllinois (Aug 3, 2016)

Red Flag 1 said:


> The quick answer is yes, but my confidence in success is very low. There are still ethical issues being debated. Funding is the next issue, this will require extensive post-op support.
> 
> For info on the disease this young man has : Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease - NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders).
> 
> ...



I'm also thinking about the cervical nerves forming the brachial plexus, the rami contributions to the phrenic nerves and the nerves themselves (which are sensitive to insult even in a non-body transplant patient), maintaining the integrity of the spinal canal and it's associated structures, ensuring CSF flow (and that any consequent inflammation doesn't hinder that flow), adequate flow of the lymphatic network.  I could go on - there's a lot of anatomy stuffed into a neck or associated with it.

I, too, would be interested in the research supporting the union and coordination of involved anatomy.

Or, perhaps, this procedure _is_ the research.  My prediction is complete paralysis and/or that the post-op transplantee needs kept alive by artificial means to such a degree that it becomes an ethical matter, like our esteemed research monkey.


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## Muppet (Aug 3, 2016)

Um, not sure if this will work. Say, that some person has a progressive neuro-muscular disease, think Lou Gerigs, Myastenia Gravis. The disease pathology is in the body. A new head will not fix that, or am I over simplfying it? Granted, I am not a M.D. or neuro specialist.

M.


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## Gunz (Aug 4, 2016)

This is way over my head.


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## AWP (Aug 4, 2016)

Ocoka One said:


> This is way over my head.



I wouldn't have the nerve to go through the procedure.


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## Red Flag 1 (Aug 4, 2016)

Muppet said:


> Um, not sure if this will work. Say, that some person has a progressive neuro-muscular disease, think Lou Gerigs, Myastenia Gravis. The disease pathology is in the body. A new head will not fix that, or am I over simplfying it? Granted, I am not a M.D. or neuro specialist.
> 
> M.



I think in this case, you have made a really good observation.  Since this affliction includes the brain stem, he will gain nothing by not replacing that as well.

Just sitting here, and trying to visualize the surgical removal of someone's head, I'm having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around this. I've done the donor, and recipient cases, one of which still haunts me. Seeing the head handed off, hooked only to a perfusion pump would be another one that would wake me up at night. Just try to imagine waking up and seeing someone else's hands, feet, and body.

I think that there will be loss of  brain function at multiple levels. It will be interesting to sit back and watch how this goes, from a professional level. How much sensory and motor function will be realized? How much brain function will be preserved during the hand off, and re-perfusion with the new body? There are so many questions here, and will it become as big a success as heart transplants? It will be the ultimate test of medical advancement ever taken.



Freefalling said:


> I wouldn't have the nerve to go through the procedure.



I concur, but then I am not facing a wasting death at the age of thirty something.  I would have to resign myself that when I went to sleep, I would not wake up again. There is so much room for failure here, that he may be jumping from the proverbial frying pan.


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## Gunz (Aug 4, 2016)

DocIllinois said:


> ... I would argue that this is actually a body transplant since the head is the remaining functional part...



Yeah, the guy wants to keep his head. He's looking for a new bod. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.


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## Raptor (Aug 4, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> I wouldn't have the nerve to go through the procedure.


The concept itself blows my mind.


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## Muppet (Aug 4, 2016)

M.


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## CQB (Aug 4, 2016)

ISIS have made significant progress in this area, though fall short of overall success.


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## Gunz (Aug 4, 2016)

Ted William's head is in a cryogenic freezer somewhere. Something to think about if you're a Red Sox fan.


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## Florida173 (Aug 4, 2016)

Ocoka One said:


> Ted William's head is in a cryogenic freezer somewhere. Something to think about if you're a Red Sox fan.



Think I read something about it being mistreated or something.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Aug 4, 2016)

CQB said:


> ISIS have made significant progress in this area, though fall short of overall success.



Their hacking method with dull knives may not meet the same clinical standards. But then again,  we're talking Russia,  so who knows.


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## Gunz (Aug 5, 2016)

Diamondback 2/2 said:


> Their hacking method with dull knives may not meet the same clinical standards. But then again,  we're talking Russia,  so who knows.




But his surgeon is Italian, so the head must be boiled for 11 minutes until al dente. Season with oregano, make the cut.


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## DasBoot (Aug 5, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> I wouldn't have the nerve to go through the procedure.


All I know is if this doesn't work, heads will roll...


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## DasBoot (Aug 5, 2016)

Ocoka One said:


> Ted William's head is in a cryogenic freezer somewhere. Something to think about if you're a Red Sox fan.


... And surprisingly well guarded. I mean, not that I would know from first hand experience...


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## CQB (Aug 10, 2016)

Personality transplants were mooted some time ago by that great surgeon from Woy Woy, Australia, Mr. Spike Milligan. Put two people who have agreed to this radical surgery and sedate them for several hours. On recovery, assure them that the operation was a success and now Person A is now Person B and vice versa.


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