Leucotome

A leucotome is a surgical instrument used for performing a lobotomy or leucotomy, a now largely discredited form of psychosurgery. It is characterized by a long, thin blade that can be extended and retracted. The blade is used to sever connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex.

The leucotome was developed by António Egas Moniz in the mid-1930s as a refinement of earlier lobotomy techniques. Moniz believed that mental illness was caused by fixed neural connections in the brain and that severing these connections could alleviate symptoms. The original leucotome consisted of a narrow cannula with a retractable wire loop. This loop was extended within the brain tissue and rotated to cut the nerve fibers.

Later modifications included the ice pick lobotomy (transorbital lobotomy) popularized by Walter Freeman, which employed an instrument resembling an ice pick inserted through the eye socket. While these procedures sometimes seemed to reduce certain symptoms, they often resulted in significant personality changes, cognitive deficits, and other serious side effects.

Due to the severity of these side effects, the development of effective psychotropic medications, and ethical concerns regarding informed consent and patient autonomy, the use of leucotomes and lobotomies drastically declined in the latter half of the 20th century. The procedure is now considered archaic and is rarely, if ever, performed. The leucotome remains primarily a historical artifact, representative of a controversial chapter in the history of psychiatry and neurosurgery.