First zero-gravity human surgery

[tocqueville]

The operation will be performed in 20-second periods

A team of French doctors is planning to carry out the first operation on a human being under "weightless" conditions in an adapted aircraft.

It is hoped the trial will be a first step to performing surgery in space.

The doctors will be removing a benign tumour from the arm of a volunteer as their plane makes a series of swoops to mimic a reduced-gravity environment.

The surgeons will be working strapped to the sides of the plane while the patient is held inside a plastic tent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5383764.stm

link here too

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060927/sc_nm/space_surgery_dc_1