Does Doctors Still Perform Lobotomies?

James H. Sterling
James H. Sterling
• • 6 min read

Today Lobotomy Is Rarely Performed; However, Shock Therapy and Psychosurgery Psychosurgery Psychosurgery That Involves the Placement of Tiny Lesions in...

Does Doctors Still Perform Lobotomies?

Today lobotomy is rarely performed; however, shock therapy and psychosurgery

psychosurgery
Psychosurgery that involves the placement of tiny lesions in specific areas of the brain and that has virtually no effect on intellectual function or the so-called quality of life has also been developed. These techniques are used in cases of obsessive-compulsive behaviour and occasionally in cases of severe psychosis.
› science › psychosurgery
(the surgical removal of specific regions of the brain) occasionally are used to treat patients whose symptoms have resisted all other treatments.

When was the last lobotomy performed in the US?

In the late 1950s lobotomy's popularity waned, and no one has done a true lobotomy in this country since Freeman performed his last transorbital operation in 1967. (It ended in the patient's death.) But the mythology surrounding lobotomies still permeates our culture.

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Do hospitals still do lobotomies?

Lobotomy is rarely, if ever, performed today, and if it is, "it's a much more elegant procedure," Lerner said. "You're not going in with an ice pick and monkeying around." The removal of specific brain areas (psychosurgery) is only used to treat patients for whom all other treatments have failed.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist
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James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.