This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (11)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Coagulation of Medial Frontal White Fibers in Stages by Means of Inlying Electrodes

JAMES C. WHITE, M.D.; WILLIAM H. SWEET, M.D.; THOMAS P. HACKETT, M.D.

AMA Arch Neurol. 1960;2(3):317-330.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In order to avoid the serious forms of psychological deterioration which invariably followed bilateral transection of the frontal white matter in attempts to relieve otherwise intractable pain, Grantham⁴ proposed bilateral electrocoagulation of the inferior medial quadrants. This he carried out by means of fine unipolar electrodes, insulated down to the terminal centimeter, which were inserted through paramedian trephine openings 6 to 7 cm. behind the glabella. The lesion was made by means of the standard operating-room electrodesiccation unit. Thereby lesions of small extent can be made, the needles withdrawn, and the transverse incision sutured. When this technique is used, it is generally necessary to reinsert electrodes of this type a number of times and increase the size of the lesion in progressive stages. Grantham and Spurling⁵ reported a number of cases in which pain was well relieved without serious psychological damage or risk of other complications, such as . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Boston

From the Neurosurgical and Psychiatric Services of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School.

Footnotes
Received for publication Oct. 24, 1959.

This investigation was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, and also by a fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Public Health Service.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?