A piece of mind

For more than a generation, lobotomies and other forms of psychosurgery were recognized as a treatment for mental patients. Today, few doctors subscribe to this method that was awarded the Nobel Prize and used on thousands of patients throughout the western world. Psychosurgery is an irreversible operation by which the surgeon cuts or coagulates parts of the brain. Very often the result is a change in the personality of the patient. Among the side effects are severe physical complications –sometimes fatal. In the program patients, doctors and other professionals disclose their personal experiences, discussing possible alternatives and the ethical implications of the treatment. We follow a young woman during an operation that is intended to done down her aggressive impulses. DR Dokumentar reveals how enthusiastic surgeons and psychiatrics over the years extended the operations beyond the psychiatric field to other human categories such as sexual deviants, mentally retarded and children.