The legacy of Walter Jackson Freeman II (1896–1972): The lobotomist

Abstract

Introduction

Walter Jackson Freeman II was born the grandchild of William Williams Keen, one of world's most renowned surgeons from Philadelphia and the son of an otorhinolaryngist, which may have been contributed to his interest in medicine. Freeman started his medical career in a psychiatric hospital and over the years, he operated thousands of patients. He was a protagonist in American psychosurgery and therefore, he often has been referred as the “lobotomist”.

Objectives

To present the scientific papers of Walter Jackson Freeman on psychosurgery.

Aims

To review available literature and to show evidence that Freeman made a significant though controversial contribution to the development of psychosurgery.

Methods

A biography is presented and discussed followed by a literature review.

Results

In this whole career, “the lobotomist” operated more than 3500 patients and performed mainly operations on the frontal areas. However, he operated human brains without due regard for his patient's mental abilities and emotional well-being after their lobotomy. Despite his work was praised, there was also a lot of criticism on his methods.

Conclusion

Despite the dubious reputation, Freeman can be remembered as an ambitious doctor who made a significant contribution to the development of psychosurgery. However, unfortunately he crossed medical and legal boundaries.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.