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The Lobotomy Letters
The Making of American Psychosurgery
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2013
About this book
Drawing from original correspondence penned by lobotomy patients and their families as well as from the professional papers of lobotomy pioneer and neurologist Walter Freeman, The Lobotomy Letters gives an account of the widespread acceptance of this controversial procedure.
The rise and widespread acceptance of psychosurgery constitutes one of the most troubling chapters in the history of modern medicine. By the late 1950s, tens of thousands of Americans had been lobotomized as treatment for a host of psychiatric disorders. Though the procedure would later be decried as devastating and grossly unscientific, many patients, families, and physicians reported veritable improvement from the surgery; some patients were even considered cured.
The Lobotomy Letters gives an account of why this controversial procedure was sanctioned by psychiatrists and doctors of modern medicine. Drawing from original correspondence penned by lobotomy patients andtheir families as well as from the professional papers of lobotomy pioneer and neurologist Walter Freeman, the volume reconstructs how physicians, patients, and their families viewed lobotomy and analyzes the reasons for its overwhelming use.
Mical Raz, MD/PhD, is a physician and historian of medicine.
The rise and widespread acceptance of psychosurgery constitutes one of the most troubling chapters in the history of modern medicine. By the late 1950s, tens of thousands of Americans had been lobotomized as treatment for a host of psychiatric disorders. Though the procedure would later be decried as devastating and grossly unscientific, many patients, families, and physicians reported veritable improvement from the surgery; some patients were even considered cured.
The Lobotomy Letters gives an account of why this controversial procedure was sanctioned by psychiatrists and doctors of modern medicine. Drawing from original correspondence penned by lobotomy patients andtheir families as well as from the professional papers of lobotomy pioneer and neurologist Walter Freeman, the volume reconstructs how physicians, patients, and their families viewed lobotomy and analyzes the reasons for its overwhelming use.
Mical Raz, MD/PhD, is a physician and historian of medicine.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Acknowledgments
ix -
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Note on Archive Material and Patient Records
xi -
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Introduction
1 - Part One: Lobotomy as Modern Medicine
-
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1 From French Neurology to American Lobotomy
11 -
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2 Locating Holism
26 -
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3 Between the Ego and the Ice Pick
44 - Part Two: Interpreting Lobotomy
-
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4 An Active Docility: Reconstructing the Clinical Encounter
69 -
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5 A Surgically Induced Childhood
101 -
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6 Lobotomized, in Good Working Condition
118 -
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Conclusion
134 -
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Notes
141 -
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Index
163
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 21, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781580467940
Original publisher:
University of Rochester Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781580467940
Keywords for this book
psychosurgery; lobotomy patients; Walter Freeman; psychiatric disorders; history of modern medicine; American psychosurgery; lobotomy; neurologist
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
