Orbitoclast – lobotomy tools

1935-1967

A lobotomy was a surgical procedure to treat psychiatric symptoms by destroying brain tissue in the prefrontal cortex. In a prefrontal lobotomy, surgeons would drills holes in the side or on top of the patient’s skull. It was a time-consuming and messy procedure. 

The American surgeon Walter Freeman developed the much simplified transorbital lobotomy. This innovative procedure left no scars and took less than ten minutes; it did not require an operating room nor did it require skilled neurosurgeons. The patient was made unconscious with electric shocks, the Orbitoclast was then hammered about seven centimetres into the upper part of the eye socket, and wiggled around to destroy brain tissue. The procedure was then repeated on the other side of the head.

The development of a more effective procedure and instruments allowed lobotomies to be performed on a much larger scale. In The United States, an estimated 50,000 patients were lobotomised. This gruesome medical innovation failure was an astounding error of judgment at the time, and one that psychiatry might still need to learn from.

Additional info:
Wikipedia
Psychcentral.com – The Surprising History of the Lobotomy