1 / 24

Walter Freeman

Delve into the intriguing life of Walter Freeman, a renowned American physician known for his contributions to neurology and controversial lobotomy procedures. Learn about his family, upbringing, medical career, and the impact of his innovative yet divisive techniques that reshaped psychiatric treatment in the 20th century.

llockhart
Download Presentation

Walter Freeman

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Walter Freeman By Anna O’Hern

  2. William Williams Keen • American physician • President of the American Medical Association • Freemans grandfather • 4 daughters • Corinne Keen Freeman • Freeman was the first and favorite grandchild

  3. Medical education was interrupted by the civil war • Was a surgeon during the civil war • Had many published works • Fame made him wealthy after 1980 • Annual income exceeded $30,000 • Was only 5’2” so he had to stand on a box during surgery

  4. Walter Jackson Freeman I • Father to Walter Freeman II • Born in 1860 in Beverly, New Jersey • Parents led him to medicine • Moderately successful Otolaryngologist • Ear, nose, and throat • Married Corinne Keen (Freeman) after completing medical school

  5. Corinne Keen Freeman • Walter Freemans mother • Long after her death he confessed he had never loved his mother

  6. Walter Jackson Freeman II • Born November 14, 1895 • First of 7 children • Brothers: Richard, Norman, Jack, and William • Sisters: Virginia and Dot • Not close • Around the time x-rays were discovered and the publication of Freuds book on hysteria

  7. Poor health • Was often unwell • At 14 months old he had enlarged lymph nodes removed from his neck • Permanent paralysis of the trapezius and sternomastoid muscles • Droop of his shoulder and head • Measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, mumps and pink eye • Was afraid of horses for reasons unknown to him

  8. Childhood • Full of questions • Little Walter why why • Shy and unathletic • Found girls to be bothersome • Didn’t start dating until medical school • Took up photography at the age of 13

  9. Education • Attended Yale fall 1912 at age 16- struggled • Awkward roommate • Would have been interrupted by WWI • Summer 1914 worked as an apprentice machinist • Thought he wanted to be an engineer • Struggled with descriptive geometry • Graduated Yale in 1916 after deciding to study medicine • 20 years old • Good at chemistry

  10. Work • Neurologist • Psychiatrist • NOT a surgeon • Aside from a Nazi doctor, freeman ranks as one of the most scorned physicians of the twentieth century

  11. Family • Had 4 children • Walter, Frank, Paul, and Lorne • Defended their fathers legacy

  12. Previous procedures • Leucotomy- cutting the neural connections in the prefrontal regions of the brain • Consistency of cutting warm butter • Leucotomies- surgical tool to cut the nerve fibers • Lasted roughly an hour

  13. James Watts • Jan 19, 1904- Nov 15, 1994 • Virginia Military Institute and University of Virginia School of Medicine • Psychosurgery • 2 books • Rose Marie Kennedy • Left Freeman

  14. Discussion • First thing you think of when you hear the word lobotomy?

  15. Lobotomy • Term coined by Freeman and James Watts • Used to relieve psychiatric disorders • Supposed to be the last option • Thrived in the mainstream- late 1930s- mid 1950s • First to preform one in the US • George Washington hospital

  16. Lobotomy Electric shock Ice picks Frontal lobe

  17. Alice Hammatt September 1936 • Before- agitated depression, uncontrollable apprehension, unable to sleep, laughed and cried hysterically • Almost didn’t have the lobotomy because of her hair • First lobotomy in the US • After woke up from surgery was alert and active • Didn’t feel any of her old fears

  18. Lobotomobile • Would travel around in his van and try to do as many lobotomies he could in a day • Often had people watching him preform the lobotomies

  19. Howard Dully interview • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1-aCbnc4fg&t=54s

  20. Howard Dully • 12 years old • Didn’t know what had happened • Because his mother wanted to control him • In some ways lucky

  21. Discussion • Do you think we will ever be at the point of altering the brain again?

  22. Transcranial magnetic stimulation Stimulation delivered through electrodes

  23. Death • Walter Freeman passed away • May 31, 1972 • Theory was discredited

  24. Discussion • Would you get a lobotomy if it were he last option knowing the side effects?

More Related