Have you heard of lobotomy? Let's talk about it simply!

You may have heard the word lobotomy in a movie or a book. When you hear it, it still comes to mind as something a little scary and strange, doesn't it? What is it really? Why was this done in the past? Is it still done today? Today, we will talk about the answers to all these questions in your mind in a very simple and friendly way.

What exactly is a lobotomy?

Simply put, a lobotomy is a brain surgery. But it's not the high-tech brain surgery that we do today. It was a method that was widely used in the 1940s and 1950s, that is, 70-80 years ago.

Our brain is divided into several parts, or 'lobes'. Each part does a different job. This lobotomy targeted the frontal lobe of the brain. The surgery involved cutting a hole in the skull and severing the nerve connections between the frontal lobe and a part of the brain called the thalamus.

Now you might be thinking, "Oh my God, why would they do that?" To understand why, we need to go back in time. At that time, there were no effective treatments for severe mental illnesses like we do today. Mental hospitals, or as they were called at the time, were filled with patients suffering from severe mental disorders. They were given only a few limited treatment options, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). So, the lobotomy surgery came into the scene as a 'last resort' to provide relief to such helpless patients.

For what types of conditions was this surgery performed in the past?

At the time, doctors used this surgery on patients who had suffered from long-term mental illnesses and who had not responded to other treatments. Some of the main conditions include:

• Repetitive unwanted thoughts and actions ( Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - OCD )
• Severe depression
Schizophrenia
• Psychosis
• Chronic Neurosis
• Antisocial Personality (Psychopathic Personality)

In fact, some studies have shown that more than 40% of patients were discharged home after the surgery. Although this was a very primitive and dangerous operation today, it seemed like a new hope to people at the time.

The dark history of lobotomy

This surgery was first introduced by Portuguese scientist Egas Moniz. He was even awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1949 for this discovery. An American doctor named Walter Freeman took this method even further. He introduced a method called 'transorbital'. In it, a sharp instrument of his own design (similar to an ice pick) was inserted through the eye socket, above the eye, into the brain and cut the nerve fibers. He considered this to be a very quick and simple method, and he performed thousands of surgeries, including on children.

But not everything went well. These surgeries had serious side effects . Some patients' personalities changed completely. They became apathetic, uninterested in anything. Others forgot how to behave in society and began to behave inappropriately. Because of this, many doctors were against it, because they strongly believed that changing a person's personality through surgery was unethical.

With the discovery of highly effective drugs for mental illness, such as chlorpromazine, in the 1950s, the need for lobotomy gradually disappeared. By the 1960s, the old lobotomy method was almost completely abandoned.

What are the serious side effects of this surgery?

Brain surgery is always risky. Because the brain is a very sensitive organ, damage to it is often irreversible. The table below lists some of the main side effects that can occur after the old lobotomy.

So, are lobotomies still performed today?

The shortest and clearest answer to this question is, "No." That is, that old, primitive, random lobotomy is not performed anywhere in the world today.

However, that doesn't mean that brain surgery for mental illness has completely stopped. These surgeries are called ' psychosurgery ' or, more accurately, stereotactic neurosurgery . These are completely different and much more advanced methods than the old lobotomy.

How surgery is done today

Nowadays, doctors can use high-tech methods like (CT) scans, (MRI) scans, (EEG) to pinpoint the exact location of the problem in the brain, down to the millimeter. Then, through a very small incision, using instruments like a microscope and gamma knife, they treat only that tiny, problematic area without harming other parts of the brain.

This type of surgery is performed only on a very small group of patients who have not recovered from all other treatments, including medication and psychotherapy, for a long time. It is performed by highly qualified neurosurgeons. The results obtained here are more successful, and the damage to the brain is minimal.

Today, these advanced surgical techniques are also used to treat severe pain, epilepsy, movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and some severe mental illnesses such as OCD and depression. Another modern technique called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is now being used successfully for these conditions.

Lobotomy, Mental health, Brain surgery, Psychiatry, Schizophrenia, OCD