Trepanation, an ancient practice involving drilling, cutting, or scraping holes into a person’s skull, has been around since prehistoric times, making it one of the oldest surgical procedures known to mankind. The true purpose behind our ancestors performing trepanation remains unclear, with various theories suggesting it may have been used to treat headaches, epilepsy, or even as part of spiritual rituals.
In Western medicine, trepanation was utilized up until the 19th century as a means of treating head traumas, such as skull fractures or brain swelling. The idea was that creating a hole in the skull could relieve pressure on the brain or allow for the drainage of blood or other fluids that might have accumulated due to injury.
This is an old practice, and I find it fascinating that the ancient trepanned skulls discovered have actually survived the process.
They did, but the survival rate if I recall was terrible.
There is no doubt that anyone survived at all. What motivated people to take such drastic measures?
Unless, of course, you have a brain bleed or other trauma that’s causing abnormal swelling and you need to relieve the pressure. You have to make a hole for the demons to escape.
My God, man – drilling holes in his head’s not the answer. Repairing the artery is necessary. Now put away your butcher knives and let me save this patient before it’s too late!
I need that like I need a hole in the head.
They tried it on JFK.
That’s exactly how hydrocephaluses are treated. A syringe was used to drain the cerebral fluid from a hole made in the head. God, I am grateful to be born in a time where you treat such things with a valve and shunt.
When my allergies flare up in spring, I wish I could drill a hole in my head so a pressure release valve could be installed.