Episode 488: Walter Freeman Pt 2

American neurologist Walter Jackson Freeman had refined Moniz’s procedure and developed a non-surgical procedure that could be performed in a doctor’s office, which he called a transorbital lobotomy. Freeman’s procedure involved inserting a medical instrument similar to an icepick into the patient’s orbital socket to sever the neural connections, without requiring surgery, hospital stays, and long recovery times. Touted as a quick, easy, and painless solution to everything from general malaise and occasional depression to schizophrenia and aggressive behavior, the procedure a go-to solution for the very complex psychological problems that have affected countless people for centuries. Unfortunately, while the procedure was effective for a small number of those who received a lobotomy, it was used indiscriminately, often without consideration for the increasingly disastrous outcomes.Today we talk about the tragic and disastrous lobotomy on Rosemary Kennedy and thousands more that occured after it. ReferencesEl-Hai, Jack. 2005. The Lobotomist : A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Press.Kaye, Hugh. 2023. The dark history of gay men, lobotomies and Walter Jackson Freeman II. April 25. Accessed July 19, 2023. https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/sexuality/the-dark-gay-history-of-lobotomies-and-walter-jackson-freeman-ii-419069/.Lenz, Lyz. 2017. The Secret Lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy. March 31. Accessed July 18, 2023. https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a26261/secret-lobotomy-rosemary-kennedy/.National Public Radio. 2005. Frequently asked questions about lobotomies. November 16. Accessed July 18, 2023. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014565.—. 2005. 'My Lobotomy': Howard Dully's journey. November 16. Accessed July 18, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2005/11/16/5014080/my-lobotomy-howard-dullys-journey.New York Times. 1939. "Front brain 'rules' thoughts on future." New York Times, April 8: 6.—. 1947. "Personality shift is laid to surgery." New York Times, December 14: 51.Prentice, Claire. 2021. "Lobotomy: The brain op described as ‘easier than curing a toothache’." BBC News, January 30.2008. American Experience: The Lobotomist. Directed by Public Broadcasting System. Performed by Public Broadcasting System.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.