Psychosurgery
Psychosurgery is very rarely pursued today being restricted to long-term, disabling,severe psychiatric illness after all medicinal, somatic, and psychosocial procedures have failed after being tried for at least one year.
Through cuttings or incisions made in the frontal lobes of the brain and the cingulate bundle, an attempt is made to interrupt impulses which are traversing the limbic system. This operation is comparatively modest to earlier surgery that had resulted in untoward personality and physical sequelae.
Psychosurgery, beside having a minimal influence on the thinking process, does eliminate strong emotional undercurrents that may be responsible for creating severe problems in the emotional life the patient. It is important and a mandate, prior to making arrangements for surgery, that the patient and responsible relatives, are informed of the risks and possible benefits of the operation and that the informed consent or refusal is noted carefully in the case record.