Vladimir Demikhov, The Soviet Scientist Who Pioneered Organ Transplantation
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty ImagesVladimir Demikhov made international headlines when he successfully created a two-headed dog.
Vladimir Demikhov was a Soviet doctor who pioneered medical research — particularly in the field of transplantology, a term which he himself coined.
Demikhov conducted many of his early experiments in organ transplants on dogs to resounding success — but he wanted to take his research a step further.
Not content with successfully transplanting the creatures’ vital organs, Demikhov had the notion to graft the head of one dog onto another living dog.
His first attempt came in 1954, and from there he and his associates would try the procedure another 23 times over the course of five years. In 1959, he garnered the attention of LIFE magazine, which photographed the two-headed dog Demikhov had created.
The unnatural creature was formed by grafting a small dog named Shavka onto a larger stray German Shepherd named Brodyaga. Brodyaga was to be the host; Shavka would become its secondary head and neck.
Demikhov amputated Shavka’s body below her forelegs, keeping her heart and lungs connected until the moment just before the transplant. He attached Shavka to Brodyaga through an incision in the latter’s neck, then linked their vertebrae and vascular systems.
The surgery took Demikhov and his team just three-and-a-half hours to complete, and once the two-headed animal was resuscitated, both heads could see, smell, hear, and swallow. For all intents and purposes, the operation was a success. Unfortunately, the dog only lived for four days. Demikhov’s longest-living two-headed dog, however, managed to survive for a staggering 29 days.
Enjoy this article on the real Frankenstein experiments? Next, read about the seven most terrifying science experiments ever conducted. Then learn about the real-life Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.
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