Cingulotomy for Depression and OCD

Abstract

Cingulotomy has been performed for many years on patients with intractable major depression (MD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) but it has not been without controversy. Fulton was the first to suggest that the anterior cingulum would be an appropriate target for psychosurgical intervention and cingulotomy was initially carried out as an open procedure [1]. Foltz and White reported their experience with stereotactic cingulotomy for intractable pain and noted the best results were in those patients with concurrent anxiety and depression [2]. Ballantine subsequently demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of stereotactic cingulotomy in a large number of patients and it has been the surgical procedure of choice in North America over the last 60 years [3].