THE LONG-TERM COMPARATIVE RESULTS OF THREE DIFFERENT LOBOTOMY PROCEDURES
NORMAN L. PAUL M. D.,
EDWARD FITZGERALD M. S., , and
MILTON GREENBLATT M. D.1
1 The department of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston 15, Mass.
A 5-year follow-up of 116 chronic mentally ill patients, divided into 3 groups each of which was subjected to a different lobotomy procedure (e.g., full bilateral, bimedial, and unilateral operations) disclosed that bimedial lobotomy was superior to either of the other 2 procedures in the treatment of chronic mentally ill patients. "Significant" improvement at 5 years was found in 21 or 65% of the bimedial group, compared with lesser frequencies in the other 2 groups. Also, at 5 years, there was an improvement in work adjustment over that observed at 1 year which was most evident in the bimedial group. The greater relief of anxiety, tension, hostility, and disorganization at 5 years after bimedial operation emphasizes its therapeutic superiority.
The number of cases who had one or more convulsive seizures was greater at 5 years than at 1 year. However, only 1 person had status epilepticus and this proved to be fatal.
