A lobotomy is a dangerous, obsolete, and discredited neurosurgical procedure from the 1940s-50s designed to sever nerve fibers in the brain's frontal lobes, often with devastating effects. Methods included drilling into the skull (prefrontal) or inserting an instrument through the eye socket (transorbital) to disrupt brain connections.

Historical Methods of Lobotomy:

Transorbital Lobotomy ("Ice Pick" Method): Popularized by Dr. Walter Freeman, this method involved placing a thin instrument called a leucotome or orbitoclast under the patient's eyelid against the top of the eye socket. A mallet was used to drive the instrument through the thin bone, after which it was moved side-to-side to sever connections in the frontal lobe.

Prefrontal Lobotomy: This earlier method required a neurosurgeon to drill holes in the side or top of the skull to access the brain, allowing them to cut the white matter fibers in the frontal lobes.

Risks and Effects
Lobotomies were intended to treat mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety by reducing emotional reactivity. However, the results were often severe and irreversible:

Side Effects: Included apathy, personality changes, seizures, incontinence, intellectual decline, and, in many cases, death.