Therapy Near Me Mental Health Articles

By Therapy Near Me | July 2025

Once hailed as a revolutionary psychiatric treatment, the lobotomy—also known as prefrontal leucotomy—now stands as a stark reminder of the pitfalls of aggressive medical intervention without sufficient ethical and scientific safeguards.

Keywords: lobotomy history, prefrontal leucotomy, transorbital lobotomy, Walter Freeman lobotomy, Moniz Nobel Prize lobotomy, psychosurgery ethics, mental health past treatments, effects of lobotomy, modern psychosurgery, lobotomy legacy

1. Origins: António Egas Moniz and the Nobel Award

In 1935, Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz introduced cerebral leucotomy—later called lobotomy—to treat severe psychosis. His research earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949, though the award remains controversial today due to the procedure’s severe side effects and ethical oversights (Moniz, 1935; Britannica, 2025; Gross & Schäfer, 2024) 

2. The Rise of Walter Freeman and Transorbital Lobotomy

In the United States, Walter Jackson Freeman II introduced the transorbital (ice pick) lobotomy—a simplified version of the surgery performed outside operating rooms, often without anesthesia. Freeman reportedly performed up to 4,000 lobotomies across the U.S., sometimes with catastrophic outcomes (Freeman & Watts, 1940s; Wikipedia, 2025) 

3. Rapid Spread and Popularity

Lobotomy was widely adopted by the mid-1940s and 1950s—especially in the U.S., UK, Scandinavia, and parts of Canada. Annual numbers soared: roughly 50,000 procedures in the U.S. at its peak, with nearly 500 in the UK per year by the late 1950s (Psych Central, 2022; History of Psychosurgery review) 

4. Outcomes: Calming Patients at a Cost

While lobotomies sometimes reduced agitation and violent behavior, the cost was often devastating. Follow-up showed patients experienced reduced spontaneity, emotional flatness, cognitive decline, seizures, and in some cases, death. British psychiatrist Maurice Partridge noted the procedure “reduced the complexity of psychic life” in many patients (Wikipedia, 2025; science reviews) 

5. Ethical Backlash and Decline

Ethical concerns mounted rapidly, focusing on the absence of proper informed consent, the vulnerability of institutionalised patients, and Freeman’s public demonstrations. Critics like Donald Winnicott warned of irreversible personality alteration. By the 1950s–70s, lobotomy fell out of favor in favor of medications (e.g., chlorpromazine), psychotherapy, and safer neurosurgical techniques. Many countries banned the practice—including the Soviet Union in 1950 (ScienceDirect reviews; European ethics essays) 

6. Modern Psychosurgery: Rare and Highly Regulated

Today, traditional lobotomy is obsolete. Occasionally, targeted psychosurgical procedures (e.g. cingulotomy, capsulotomy) may be used—with strict clinical guidelines—for treatment-resistant OCD or depression, but only after exhaustive non-surgical interventions. Psychosurgery now requires multidisciplinary teams, imaging guidance, and rigorous ethical oversight (Verywell Mind, 2021; ScienceDirect) 

7. Legacy for Mental Health Ethics

The lobotomy teaches enduring lessons: medical innovation must balance scientific exploration with ethical responsibility, informed consent, and long-term follow-up. The “Lobotomobile” campaigns of the 1960s—Freeman’s mobile surgeries—underscore how sensationalism can override patient welfare (Psychology Today, 2025)

References

Britannica (2025) Lobotomy. Encyclopaedia Britannica, updated 11 Jul.
Faria, M.A. (2013) Violence, mental illness, and the brain: A brief history of psychosurgery, Surg Neurol Int.
Freeman, W.J. & Watts, J.W. (1940s) Development of prefrontal lobotomy and transorbital technique.
Gross, D. & Schäfer, G. (2024) Egas Moniz (1874–1955) and the “invention” of modern psychosurgery, Neurosurgical Focus.
Moniz, A.E. (1935) Prefrontal leucotomy for psychosis, original procedural reports.
Partridge, M. (1950s) Follow‑up study of 300 lobotomy patients, psychiatric outcomes.
Psych Central (2022) ‘The Surprising History of the Lobotomy’.
ScienceDirect (2004) ‘Psychosurgery: past, present, and future’, Clinical Neuroscience Reviews.
Verywell Mind (2021) ‘What Is Psychosurgery?’ Verywell Mind.
Warner, J. (2025) ‘Lessons to be learnt from the history of lobotomy’, Tidsskriftet, Dec.
Wikipedia contributors (2025) ‘Lobotomy’; ‘History of psychosurgery’; ‘Walter Jackson Freeman II’; updated July 2025.