BRAIN OPERATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22583, 23 November 1936, Page 9

BRAIN OPERATIONS

NEW FORM OF SURGERY BALTIMORE EXPERIMENTS (Receiver) November 22. 5.5 p.m.) BALTIMORE. Nov. 21 Two Burgeons havo informed the Southern Medical Association that they have performed operations on six persons involving a new form of brain surgery. They say it affords noteworthy relief in cases of abnormal worry, apprehension, anxiety, sleeplessness and nervous tension. The permanent effects of tho operation cannot lie determined yet, since the earliest operation occurred only two months ago. "The message does not stato the nature of the operat'on or what part of the brain was operated upon," saul an Auckland surgeon who was asked to comment on the Baltimore cablegram. "Without details of that sort anything ono can say is mere guesswork. So fatas 1 know, no such proeeduro lias been reported in recent years." The surgeon added that certain areas of the brain had been identified as having to do with intellectuality and tho emotions, but ho had never heard of tho treatment of emotional disturbance by a resort to brain surgery, unless possibly with the object of affecting the general circulation of the brain or the fluid which surrounded it. There wore reports that operations on the adrenal glands, situated next to tho kidneys, seemed to havo affected tho patient's temperament. He was not aware of any notable recent work in brain surgery at Baltimore; tho most important American progress in that field of late had been made at the Crila Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.