1. A surgical procedure in which nerve fibers in the brain are severed, formerly used to treat severe mental illness.
Usage: medical; historical; also spelled lobotomy

Examples

• Leucotomy was a controversial psychiatric treatment performed in the mid-20th century.
• The procedure involved cutting connections in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
• Many patients who underwent leucotomy experienced severe side effects and personality changes.
• Modern psychiatry has largely abandoned leucotomy in favor of medication and therapy.
• The history of leucotomy is now studied as an example of medical ethics failures.