New life saving technique - flatlining for hours

[THE_TREVALEV]

The first step is to flush cold saline through the heart and up to the brain the areas most vulnerable to low oxygen. To do this, the lower region of their heart must be clamped and a catheter placed into the aorta the largest artery in the body to carry the saline. The clamp is later removed so the saline can be artificially pumped around the whole body. It takes about 15 minutes for the patient's temperature to drop to 10 °C. At this point they will have no blood in their body, no breathing, and no brain activity. They will be clinically dead.

 

In this state, almost no metabolic reactions happen in the body, so cells can survive without oxygen. Instead, they may be producing energy through what's called anaerobic glycolysis. At normal body temperatures this can sustain cells for about 2 minutes. At low temperatures, however, glycolysis rates are so low that cells can survive for hours. The patient will be disconnected from all machinery and taken to an operating room where surgeons have up to 2 hours to fix the injury. The saline is then replaced with blood. If the heart does not restart by itself, as it did in the pig trial, the patient is resuscitated. The new blood will heat the body slowly, which should help prevent any reperfusion injuries.

 

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129623.000-gunshot-victims-to-be-suspended-between-life-and-death.html?full=true#.UzV2EYUo4wg

I find it absolutely mind blowing that we are at a time where we can take a person with a 7%> chance of living from gunshot wounds, preserve their bodies for hours, repair the damaged organs and whatnot, and then bring them back to life. The crazy thing is that this isn't exactly new because surgeons already do this (to a degree) with cardiac arrest victims. We're able to play god now. Insane. I can't even begin to imagine the feeling of dying and then reawakening days later in a hospital bed. Thanks, Otter!!

Edited March 28, 2014 by THE_TREVALEV

[Otter]

As requested, Trev, please add your opinion tot he story you've linked. Cheeeeeeeeersah.

[EphemeralStar]

That's cool, but scary. If you're clinically dead though, go in for surgery for 2 hours, won't your brain be messed up when you're revived?

[Mr. House]

That's cool, but scary. If you're clinically dead though, go in for surgery for 2 hours, won't your brain be messed up when you're revived?

Body functions slow to almost a complete stop at very low temperatures, that conveniently includes things such as cell death.

 

I believe this technique has also been used on people needing brain surgery for aneurysms and other lengthy invasive surgeries in which would have extreme blood loss.

[Crazyeighties]

It would depend on how I died if this would be an option for me ......

[IM_YOUR_GOD]

Interesting to say the least.

 

SN. Zombies confirmed.

[Killerdude]

This is insanely cool and creepy at the same time, being alive whilst actually dead.

 

Science!

[KD himan]

The summery you wrote there was quite interesting, but about this, everything is depend upon the way you Die.

 

''What if you got a whole Magazine of m16 with 3 sniper head shot with 65 glock shots in your ass with 5 granade's in your mouth with 1 molotov coming on your body + you got sucked into a chopper's vacuum then sliced into the blade and after that thrown from 724 Foots high from the ground?''

 

On that moment, this way would be not useful at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2014 by KD himan