The advent of psychosurgery in Australia—with particular attention to its introduction into Sydney

White, Richard; McGee-Collett, Martin

doi:10.1177/1039856216635898

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Without well-kept and accessible records, historians can only speculate as to the total number and type of leucotomies performed in Australia from the mid-1940s onwards. Goldney and Adams (2009) have briefly reviewed early psychosurgery in South Australia, while White and McGee-Collett (2016) have recently published a brief study of early leucotomy in New South Wales. Both agree that the earliest psychosurgery procedures in Australia were performed in 1945 in South Australia.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A matter for conjecture’: leucotomy in Western Australia, 1947–70

Martyr

Janča

2018

Hist Psychiatry

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Very little has been published on the rise and fall of psychosurgery in Australia. In the mid-twentieth century, Western Australia was the largest but most sparsely-populated of the six Australian States, and its local psychiatry practice was, as one commentator put it, 'backward'. Nonetheless, electroconvulsive therapy was introduced in 1945, and leucotomy in 1947. This paper will explore the introduction of leucotomy to Western Australia in the context of wider national and international trends in psychiatry, and posit some reasons for its decline and abandonment in the 1970s. It will present a narrative reconstruction of the local introduction and practice of leucotomy, using retrieved, reconstructed and previously unpublished data.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A matter for conjecture’: leucotomy in Western Australia, 1947–70

Martyr

Janča

2018

Hist Psychiatry

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“…In a complementary article the authors describe the advent of prefrontal lobotomy in Australia, most particularly in Sydney, and provide additional information about the role of neurosurgeons and major hospitals during the psychosurgery era. 8 That article also touches on attitudes within the Australian medical profession towards psychosurgery. 8 For accounts of the international psychosurgery era the reader should consult other sources.…”

Section: Retrospective Appraisalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 That article also touches on attitudes within the Australian medical profession towards psychosurgery. 8 For accounts of the international psychosurgery era the reader should consult other sources. [9][10][11]…”

Section: Retrospective Appraisalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A portrait of prefrontal lobotomy performed at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney by Dr Rex Money

White

McGee-Collett

2016

Australas Psychiatry

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Notwithstanding various deficiencies in his clinical research, Money's descriptions give a relatively comprehensive account of one of the first series of prefrontal lobotomies performed in Australia. The current article also describes Dr Money's contributions to the promotion of psychosurgery in Sydney, and illustrates the participation of a senior neurosurgeon and of a major Sydney teaching hospital during the psychosurgery saga.

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“…This is the subject of two papers in this issue of Australasian Psychiatry . 2,3 This advent will never be repeated and no amount of empirical science will predict or explain its occurrence or its consequences. Importantly also, there is no way that a 21 st century psychiatrist might anticipate or understand the existence of a law in New South Wales that prevents deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders without knowing the history of psychosurgery in Sydney between the late 1940s and the late 1970s.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%