Lobotomy

{{Cquote|Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em<br>
That I got no cerebellum|||The Ramones, "Teenage Lobotomy"}}
[[File:Turning the Mind Inside Out Saturday Evening Post 24 May 1941 b detail.jpg|thumb|right|A lobotomy operation (''Saturday Evening Post'' 24 May 1941)]]
{{Psychology}}
'''Lobotomy''' is a discredited neurosurgical procedure and form of psychosurgery involving scraping away most connections to the prefrontal cortex.<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/42199-lobotomy-definition.html Lobotomy: Definition, Procedure & History] ''Live Science'' 29 August 2014</ref> Ever since the inception of the procedure, it has been controversial, but for decades it was commonly used to "treat" manic depression, [[schizophrenia]], and social deviance including mildly unruly child behaviour.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/jan/13/neuroscience.medicalscience</ref><ref>https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/an-ice-pick-to-the-brain-the-horror-of-the-frontal-lobotomy/C2X63F5EDPOOGYJKKSRYMKGZEE/</ref> Scraping the prefrontal cortex with an ice pick came under fire for having ill effects, and occasionally for failing to treat mental illnesses.<ref name="Soul">[http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/lobotomy2.htm Soul Surgery: Successes and Failures in Lobotomy Patients] ''HowStuffWorks'' 27 October 2008</ref> The demand for lobotomies has fallen sharply since the 1950's due to the availability of orally available chemical straitjackets. However, while rare, the surgery is not unheard of today. Lobotomies are still used as a "last resort."

The most prolific lobotomizer, {{wpl|Walter Jackson Freeman II||,}} {{lived|1895|1972}} performed lobotomies on 3,500 patients (70% of all American lobotomies). 14% of his patients died due to the lobotomies.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/story/how-many-people-actually-got-lobotomized</ref> Freeman nominated his lobotomy mentor, {{wpl|António Egas Moniz||,}} for the [[Nobel Prize]] in Physiology and Medicine in 1949 for pioneering the idea of surgery to treat mental disorders, which Moniz won, subsequently gaining criticism for the award. Freeman was untrained in surgery and had appalling practice (no mask or gloves, unnecessary people crowded around the operating table<ref>[https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/LobotomyFilesPart2.pdf An Operations Champion and the Vets He Left Behind] by Michael M. Phillips (December 13, 2013) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>) even for that era.<ref>[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7309199/ The history and value of face masks] by Christiane Matuschek et al. (2020) ''Eur. J. Med. Res.'' 25:23. doi:10.1186/s40001-020-00423-4.</ref>

==History==
In 1890, [[Germany|German]] scientist {{wpl|Freiderich Golz}} removed chunks of his dogs' temporal lobes to "calm them down."<ref>[http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/lobotomy.html A Brief History of the Lobotomy] ''Dr. C. George Boeree''</ref> (You can tell already this is a humane, consensual, and rational way to inspire medicine, right?) This procedure made his dogs calmer and less aggressive. This spurred the idea that involuntarily removing chunks of human brain instead of dog brain could treat human mental health issues. {{wpl|Gottlieb Burkhardt}}, the head of a [[Switzerland|Swiss]] mental hospital, attempted a similar procedure on six schizophrenic patients. While a few of his patients became calmer, two of them died.

The lobotomy was hardly seen as a wise method in treating mental illnesses until [[Portugal|Portuguese]] neurologist António Egas Moniz and [[United States|American]] psychiatrist {{wpl|Walter Jackson Freeman II|Walter Freeman}} popularized them. In 1936, Freeman and another neurosurgeon performed the first lobotomy in the US on a housewife from [[Kansas]].<ref>[http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/03/21/the-surprising-history-of-the-lobotomy/ The Surprising History of the Lobotomy] ''PsychCentral'' 21 March 2011</ref>
Freeman then went on to create the 10-minute long transorbital lobotomy, which became known as the ice-pick lobotomy. The first ice-pick lobotomy was performed by Freeman in 1946. Over the next two decades, Freeman performed over 2500 lobotomies, most notably for [[schizophrenia]], but even for depression and OCD.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2001/02/04/the-lobotomist/630196c4-0f70-4427-832a-ce04959a6dc8/ The Lobotomist] ''The Washington Post'' 4 February 2001</ref> Part of the popularity of the transorbital lobotomy was its simplicity; the patient needed just light anesthesia, and the operation itself was intentionally simple enough that, in at least one case, Freeman's partner discovered Freeman doing it in his consultation office. [[Electroconvulsive therapy]] was sometimes used as the anesthesia, as it was readily available.

In 1967, Freeman was banned from practicing medicine after one of his patients died of a brain hemorrhage. Since then, the popularity and demand for lobotomies has sharply declined, and the procedure is seldom used today.

==Methods==
A typical prefrontal/transorbital lobotomy used an orbitoclast, which resembles an ice pick. However, Freeman's first lobotomies were performed using actual ice picks. To reach the prefrontal cortex, the doctor would tap through the patient's eye socket. After this, the doctor would typically be able to enter the brain just by tapping lightly on the orbitoclast with a hammer. This would allow the doctor to break through a thin layer of bone without damaging the rest of the skull.<ref>[http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/lobotomy1.htm The Way of the Ice Pick] ''HowStuffWorks'' 27 October 2008</ref>

==Effectiveness==
While the lobotomy was regarded as a successful procedure in the 1940's and 1950s, many medical professionals deem the lobotomy to have been a mistake. [[Ironically]], the lobotomy failed to cure [[schizophrenia]], as it's not a disorder of mood, but a disorder of thought.<ref>Augustus S. Rose & Harry C. Solomon. [https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-12091-012 Prefrontal lobotomy: A consideration of unsuccessful cases.] ''Failures in psychiatric treatment: The proceedings of the thirty-seventh annual meeting of the American Psychopathological Association, held in New York City, June 1947'', Grune & Stratton. 1948</ref> Many patients, notably {{wpl|Rosemary Kennedy}}, reported a loss of memory, a vacuous state, and even more mood problems. There were very few who reported successful experiences with the lobotomy.<ref name="Soul"/> Today, it is largely considered a complete failure, but that doesn't stop random [[quack]]s from supporting it.

==See also==
*[[Electroconvulsive therapy]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Mental health]]
[[Category:Mental health woo]]

Categories: Ableism, Medicine, Mental health, Mental health woo