Leucotomy in the early Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

Leucotomy was introduced in 1936 in Europe as atherapy for mental illness. With the end of World WarII leucotomy was also introduced in the early Federal Republic of Germany. Leucotomy was applied in cases of, for example schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders or even some psychopathic disorders. The operations were carried out in neurosurgical departments outside psychiatric hospitals or patients were also transferred to those which had been established in psychiatric and neurological clinics. Based on published conference reports, retrospective case reports, dissertations as well as representative samples from medical files, the use of leucotomy in West Germany until the early 1950s is presented. It becomes obvious that the introduction of leucotomy in West German post-war psychiatry was encouraged by American psychiatry and neurosurgery.