人類頭顱移植？意大利醫生說能做到

The first ever human head transplant is now possible, a neurosurgeon has claimed.

Dr Sergio Canavero believes that the technology now exists that will allow surgeons to carry out the Frankenstein-style procedure, which has been tested out on animals since 1970.

Up until now there has been no way to successfully reconnect the spinal cord, leaving the subjects paralysed from the point where the transplant was connected.

Recent advances have meant that re-connecting the spinal cord is now possible, and it is believed that the breakthrough means that previously fatal diseases could be cured.

However, other experts have dismissed the idea.

Professor Anthony Warrens, from the British Transplantation Society, told the Sun: "Connecting a head to a body is worthless to human beings today. The whole concept is bizarre."

In 1970 Robert White successfully transplanted the head of a rhesus monkey onto the body of a second rhesus, and Dr Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, has proposed using a similar method.

He said: “The greatest technical hurdle to such endeavour is of course the reconnection of the donor's and recipient's spinal cords. It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage,” he wrote.

“It is argued that several up to now hopeless medical conditions might benefit from such procedure.”

He believes that it a team of 100 could perform the operation in 36 hours — at a cost of £8.5million.

Both heads would have to be removed at the same time, and reconnected within an hour.

"This is no longer science fiction. This could be done today — now. If this operation is done it will provide a few people with a substantial amount of extra life,” he said. “The only reason I have not gone further is funding."

However, Dr Calum Mackellar, from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, added: "This sounds like something from a horror movie."據外國媒體7月3日報道，日前，意大利都靈一位名叫塞爾吉奧•卡納韋羅的神經外科醫生表示，人類可能首次實現頭顱移植。

頭顱移植主要的障礙就是脊髓的再接合，移植完成後如果無法實現脊髓結合，病人就將癱瘓。不過，最近的科研進展讓這一切成爲可能，這種突破意味着以前許多不治之症也有救了。

1970年，美國神經外科醫生羅伯特•懷特成功將一個獼猴的頭顱移植到另一個獼猴身上，因此，卡納韋羅醫生也想利用相似的方法進行人類頭顱移植。“這種先 進的技術不僅存在於科幻小說中了，如今在現實生活中也可以實現。如果這種手術能成功的話，那麼將會給一部分人帶來福音，他們的生命或許會因此延續，”卡納 韋羅說。

卡納韋羅認爲，100名醫生組成的專家小組在36小時內就可以完成這種手術，手術過程中供體和受體的頭顱要同時分離，並在1小時內完成交換的重新接合。該手術的成本花費大約爲850萬美元。“目前，我沒有繼續研究下去的唯一原因就是資金問題。”

“這項技術最大的障礙就是供體和受體的脊髓接合。我認爲目前的技術可以克服這一障礙。一些不治之症也可能因此受益。”卡納韋羅說。

但英國移植器官學會的安東尼•沃倫教授在接受媒體採訪時表示：“目前對於人類來說，移植頭顱是毫無意義的，這種想法令人匪夷所思。”

蘇格蘭人類生命倫理委員會的卡魯姆•馬克凱勒也說：“這聽上去像是恐怖影片中的某個畫面。”