"LOBOTOMY"

Lobotomy is a largely discredited procedure which reflects the evolving understanding of mental health and the importance of ethical standards in medical practices. But once it was seen as a potential solution for severe mental illness. Its legacy serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of invasive treatments in medical science.  Also it tells need for compassionate care in psychiatry.

LOBOTOMY

WHAT IS LOBOTOMY??

DR.WALTER JACKSON FREEMAN

IT is a surgical procedure which involves the severing of connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. once lobotomy was a common treatment for various mental health disorders . But now it has been largely discredited and abandoned in Psychiatry due to ethical concerns.

ORIGIN OF LOBOTOMY :

First prefrontal lobotomy was performed in 1935 by Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz . Who said that by severing certain brain connections could alleviate symptoms of mental illness. IN EASY WORDS WE CAN SAY THAT HE USED TO CUT THE BRAIN CONNECTIONS INTO TWO. In 1949 Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his work, which helped to  popularize the procedure all over the EUROPE.

POPULARIZATION OF LOBOTOMY:

 Lobotomy was widely used in the United States of america and in  Europe during the 1940s and 1950s. Lobotomy was particularly used in psychiatric hospitals. It was seen as a way to manage patients who were considered difficult to handle or unmanageable. Meanwhile an American neurologist, Dr. Walter Freeman, became a prominent advocate for lobotomy, who performed a thousands of procedures. And he developed the transorbital lobotomy technique, which involved accessing the brain through the eye socket. He used "leucotome" which was often a long, thin instrument resembling an ice pick, which was inserted through eye sockets to sever connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex.

METHODS OF LOBOTOMY:

1. Prefrontal Lobotomy:

   • It is a traditional method which involved drilling holes into the skull and severing the connections between the prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain.

2. Transorbital Lobotomy:

   • It was Developed by Walter Freeman, this technique involved inserting a sharp instrument referred as a leucotome through the eye socket to reach the brain. This was a quicker method can be performed without giving anesthesia.

EFFECTS OF LOBOTOMY:

Some patients experienced a reduction in symptoms of severe mental illness, such as agitation or violent behavior. But Many patients suffered from significant side effects such as Personality changes, Cognitive impairments & in some cases, patients were left in a vegetative state or experienced severe disability.

MAJOR DRAWBACK OF LOBOTOMY : Major side effect was Emotional blunting that is the patients were experiencing reduced ability to experience emotions. Patients who underwent lobotomy were not able to experience any kind of emotions.

ETHICAL CONNSIDERATIONS OF LOBOTOMY : Many patients underwent the procedure without fully understanding the risks and consequences which raised significant ethical questions regarding consent for the treatment of mental illness and the rights of patients.

Practice of lobotomy is cited as an example of the dangers of medical experimentation and the need for ethical standards in psychiatric treatment. Decline of lobotomy coincided with the development of more effective psychiatric medications and therapies.

Today, mental health treatment focuses on evidence-based practices, including psychotherapy,emphasizing the patient autonomy and informed consent.