NurseZone Article

Since one of our members is a nurse NurseZone decided to do a story on our efforts:

Nurse Campaigns to Raise Awareness of Lobotomy

Long after lobotomy fell out of favor in treating mental illness, epilepsy and headaches, adult children of patients subjected to the brutal, debilitating procedure have begun championing their loved ones’ memories and trying to convince the Nobel Foundation to revoke the Nobel Prize given to its inventor, Egas Moniz.

“It’s not going to happen, but [the campaign] is getting people to talk about what has happened,” said Carol Noell Duncanson, RN, of Marietta, Georgia. “Families are struggling every single day with results.”

Moniz developed leukotomy, later called lobotomy, in 1936, to treat mental illness. He received the Nobel Prize in 1949.

Physicians performing the procedure would drill holes in the patient’s head and through the incision destroy prefrontal brain tissue. Lobotomy affected patients’ personalities, and they frequently became dependent on others for their care. Still physicians persisted in performing the surgeries.

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