Walter Freeman JACK BASTEN
Childhood Born on November 14, 1895 To Corinne Keen & Walter Freeman in Philadelphia Richard, Norman, Jack, William, Virginia, and Dot William Keen
William Keen Renowned surgeon Served in the Civil War Eventually became a medical professor Eventually president of the American Medical Association
Education Yale in 1912 Worked at a General Electric factory Eventually contracted typhoid fever Medical school at University of Pennsylvania Interest in neuropathology Eventually began working at St. Elizabeths in 1924
Marjorie Franklin Married on November 3, 1924 after knowing each other for 3 months First daughter, Lorne, in July 1925 Twin boys, Walter and Franklin, in 1927 Paul in 1928 Keen in 1934 Randy in 1936
James Watts Accomplished neurosurgeon Became partners in 1935 Attended a London conference together in 1936
Leucotomy Pioneered by Moniz Originally cut out small sections of the brain Later moved to cutting the fibers connected to the thalamus Also started using local anesthetics
Lobotomy After WW2, needed to reduce the time of the procedure Operation now would go through the trans orbital plate behind the eye Decided to move from anesthesia to ECT induced comas This would eventually lead to the breakup of Freeman and Watts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7W3Z1_1QMg
Fame The number of lobotomies performed went from 150 in 1945 to over 5000 in 1949 By this time, lobotomy had been fully accepted by the medical community Lobotomies were performed at medical institutes all over the country
On the Road Cross country tour of psychiatric facilities in 1949 1951 began another major trip 1952 trip into Virginia and operated on 353 patients Trip into West Virginia in July that same year, operated on 228 patients in a 12 day time span
Decline 1954 led to the invention of Chlorpromazine Sold as a “chemical lobotomy” Walter and Marjorie moved to California in June Eventually was no longer able to practice in 1967 Began a search for past patients to prove lobotomy was a success Died to colon cancer on May 31, 1972
Success? No one was ever fully “cured” Peoples’ personalities tended to change at the very least Results were all over the board
Discussion Questions Was Walter in this for the fame or did he really want to help? In 5 or 10 years, what might we realize was not a good idea or practice?
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