An Italian surgeon is reportedly convinced that the technology now exists to carry out a full-on human head transplant.

The science — according to Dr. Sergio Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group — is based on the successful head transplants of animals. In 1970, Dr. Robert White, a neurosurgeon, successfully completed the procedure between two rhesus monkeys.

SEE ALSO: Google Glass Finds Its Way to the Operating Room

Canavero notes White's efforts in a paper on the topic, and adds that "the greatest technical hurdle to such endeavor is of course the reconnection of the donor (D)'s and recipient (R)'s spinal cords." (His report goes on to sketch out a possible human scenario and additionally outlines the technology needed to reconnect a severed cord.)

Canavero's method, unlike White’s, advocates for a “clean cut,” the so-called “key to spinal cord fusion.” Canavero told The Telegraph that the operation could provide people with a "substantial amount of extra life." The biggest hurdle? Funding.

SEE ALSO: UCLA Surgeons Live Vine Brain Surgery

Estimates currently put the surgery around the $13 million mark.

What do you think about this science fiction procedure turning into reality? Watch the videos above to learn more, and sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of YouTube, Ronni Thomas