The iron curtain of medicine: why soviet criticism of lobotomy failed to reach Israel

The discrepancies in international approaches to psychosurgery during 1940-1960 are analyzed, focusing on the criticisms published in the Soviet medical literature and on its opposition to the ongoing Western practice. While the S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry and related Soviet publications led the international opposition to lobotomy through systematic scientific and ethical criticism, this procedure continued to be used uncontrollably in Western medical systems. Based on a comprehensive archival review of a clinical case of a Holocaust survivor who underwent a lobotomy in Israel in late 1951 - one year after the Soviet ban - this paper demonstrates how miscommunication of medical knowledge, ideological barriers, and institutional cultures shaped therapeutic practices in various health systems. The study contributes to understanding how, if taken into account at the international level, the results of scientific work could prevent thousands of unnecessary medical interventions.