Italian surgeon plans first ever human head transplant by 2017

The first ever human head transplant could take place in 2017, claims a neurosurgeon in Italy.

Zee Media Bureau

London: The first ever human head transplant could take place in 2017, claims a neurosurgeon in Italy.

Sergio Canavero from the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, Italy, wants the surgery to be used to help extend the lives of people who have suffered degeneration of the muscles and nerves or those who have advanced cancer, the New Scientist reported.

Mr Canavero plans to announce the project at the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons (AANOS) conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in June.

Mr Canavero said he would expect the patient to be able to move and feel their face when they awoke, they would speak with the same voice and they should be able to walk within a year.

The first successful head transplant was carried out at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US in 1970, involving moving the head of one monkey on to another.

But, the monkey lived only for nine days as its immune system rejected the head.

The surgeon, who first proposed the idea in 2013, published a broad otutline of how the surgery would be done in the medical journal Surgical Neurology International this month.

(With Agency Inputs)

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.