Italian neuroscientist Dr. Sergio Canavero will attempt to transplant the head of a volunteer patient to a donor body, according to Cavalier Daily.
Here are five things to know:
1. Dr. Canavero will collaborate with Chinese surgeon Dr. Xiaoping Ren to perform the surgery in December 2017.
2. The patient is a 30-year-old Russian man suffering from spinal atrophy and motor neuron degeneration due to Wednig-Hoffman disease.
3. Dr. Canavero published a detailed surgical plan called for the head transplant in Surgical Neurology International, calling it "head anastomosis venture."
4. The 36-hour operation involves roughly $10 million and over 80 additional surgeons.
5. The patient is expected to be placed in an induced coma for a month after the surgery so muscles, blood, spinal cord and nerves from the donor body may connect with his head.
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