Dementia ,Lobotomy’s and the Ice Pick

The term Dementia comes from the Latin roots demons meaning out of your mind ( without mind ) In Victorian asylums people were called lunatics ,demented ,Maniacs and lots of other names that we would not dreaming of using today. The first Lobotomy was performed on the 17th January 1946 On a lady called Sallie Ellen Ionesco she was a house wife from Washington DC When The Labotomy was invented there was no medication or cure for Dementia and it is said that people were desperate for some kind of treatment. The powers that be said it was a great success in treating patients with depression schizophrenia, panic attacks and mania But according to research the side effects were horrific vomiting, bladder and bowel incontinence apathy lethargy eye problems eating disorders the list goes on. But they still continued to treat people around the world. WHAT IS LABOTOMY The first lobotomy's involved cutting a hole in the persons skull and injecting ethanol into the brain to destroy the fibers that connect the frontal lobe to other parts of the brain. An instrument was developed called Leucotome that had a retractable loop of wire when rotated this would cut a circle out of your head. Lobotomy's became unpopular in the 1950s (Hardly surprising! ) There side effects became more well known it also became apparent that patients in asylums and prisoners being operated on without there consent. One flew over the cuckoos nest comes to mind Lobotomy's are very rarely if at all performed today. If it is a much different operation is performed. AND SO TO THE ICE PICK An Italian named Ammaro Fiamberti developed the procedure in 1945 it involved accessing the frontal lobes through the eye sockets they used an instrument called a orbioclast a long slender instrument it was actually modelled on an ice pick they would then insert this through the persons eye socket using a hammer moving it from side to side to separate the frontal lobes from the part of the brain that receives and sends sensory input. The last Labotomy was performed in 1967 on a lady called Hellen I cared for her for a while she was like a frightened mouse all the time terrified of her own shadow all I can say is thank god we have moved on!

Marina Barker