Russian surgeons performed the world's first human spinal cord transplant at the Sklifosovsky Institute for Emergency Medicine in Moscow. Xiaoping Ren led the operation on an adult who suffered a complete spinal cord injury from external trauma three years ago.
The procedure involved replacing a damaged segment of the recipient's spinal cord with a section taken from a brain-dead donor. Microsurgical techniques and polyethylene glycol were used to fuse the donor segment to the patient's spinal cord.
Ren stated, "We have informed the patient of every potential risk and surgical outcome, and the patient’s current condition is good." The Russian team plans to publish a document detailing the surgery at a later date.
Sergio Canavero described the milestone as a "Sputnik moment for spinal cord injury." Melissa Andrews expressed concern for the patient's safety, suggesting they might be worse off after the surgery due to the high risk and minimal expected benefit.
Andrews added that the chance of regeneration and functional recovery would be, in her opinion, zero. Andrew Jackson noted that people living with spinal cord injuries deserve clarity, transparency and honesty regarding the prospects of new therapies.
Michael Lebenstein-Gumovski has conducted similar work on pigs. Previous tests using the polyethylene glycol fusion technique have shown some recovery of movement in mice and dogs.
