Trepanation

What would you call a person who told you that you could cure all diseases and illnesses of the head and brain by making a hole in your skull? What would you say if you heard that an alternative surgical procedure required your head to be drilled, but did not leave you dead, instead left you with increased awareness and clarity? Crazy, would definitely be the first word that comes to mind, isn’t it? Well, these ideas may not be so crazy after all. If Trepanation does work and is not just something out of Harry Potter, then all the above may indeed be true.

What Is Trepanation

Trepanation is a surgical procedure, perhaps the earliest form of surgery known to man, wherein a hole is made in the human skull. This is done so that the flow of blood to the brain can be increased, thus giving more oxygen to the brain, which in turn has many therapeutic benefits.

No, we are not kidding. This is a very real procedure, and has its roots in Ancient times. Before we take a look at the philosophy behind trepanation, let us take a look at its history.

A Brief History of Trepanation

It is not entirely clear when and where trepanation originated, but archaeological expeditions have found remains of skulls with holes in them, which are as ancient as 3000 BC. There have also been several discoveries made of trepanned skulls, mostly in Europe, an analysis of which reveals that they may be from as far back as the Stone Ages.

In ancient medicine, trepanation was seen as a procedure that could rid a person of all of his mind problems. Not just to cure any brain illnesses, but trepanation was also used on perfectly healthy people, the result being a highly enhanced sense of consciousness, understanding, and clearness.

Trepanation also finds mention in the writings of Hippocrates. Such writings not only mention trepanation, but also recommend the procedure as beneficial in the treatment of light head wounds and also give clear instructions and directions about how trepanation surgery is performed.

In ancient times, it is believed that anything from a knife, to mussel-shells, to a hammer and chisel, were used as instruments to make the hole in the head. The Greeks were the first people to start using a drill-bore known as a trypanon to make the incision in the head. This is where trepanation got its name from.

How Does Trepanation Work

The belief behind trepanation is that the hole made in your skull allows the volume of blood in the brain to be enhanced. The hole also allows the pressure, which is created by out of balance elements in the body, to be relieved. The tissues in the brain have added space to pulsate without restriction, thus increasing brain activity and curing many health problems.

The increased brain pulsations are the main idea behind trepanation. This is often explained by citing the example of an infant’s fontanel. When a baby is born, his skull has not yet fused together, thus making it possible to see the brain pulsations going on in the newborn’s head. As the child grows older, the skull hardens and becomes closed, thus shutting out a lot of the blood volume from the brain. With age, the space inside the brain decreases more and more, which leaves the brain with reduced blood volume, which is considered to be the root cause of many an ailment.

As trepanation involves cutting a hole in the skull, it improves flow of blood to the brain and improves brain pulsations, because of which the human brain can once again start performing with the capacity of early life.

The Process of Trepanation

The main aim of trepanation is to cut a hole in the skull and remove some part of the skull bone. The skin on the head is first cut off and then a trepan is used to make the hole. The trepan is the device used to cut the hole, which has evolved from a sharpened flint, to hammer and chisel, to a manually operated auger, and finally to the electric drill of modern times.

The size of the bone that is cut off is a minimum of half an inch. Small enough that it will not cause meningitis and big enough that the bone will not heal itself and cover the hole in the head. Once the hole is made, the flap of skin is sewed back in place, with the hole remaining but just covered with soft tissue.

When carrying out the procedure of trepanation, you have to be very careful not to reach the durra matter of the brain or drill so much that you reach under the level of the bone membrane. Trepanation does not require you to touch the brain or alter it in any way. No cerebrospinal fluid is also lost during trepanation.

Trepanation is often said to be a surgery which opens up your ‘third eye’, thus giving you a better vision and picture of all things around you. Although trepanation is carried out all over the world, and there are many stories of it being effective in treating various diseases, trepanation is not legal in the United States and Europe.

So, if you do wish to get yourself trepanned, you may have to get some friends to do it for you or pay a doctor ‘under the table’ to perform the surgery on you (both options being the more popular, and only choices for getting trepanned)

Does Trepanation Work

Is there any truth to all the therapeutic benefits of trepanation? Does it really work at they say it does?

Well, these are indeed difficult questions to answer. As with most alternative therapies, there are two arguments here too. There are many people (most of whom have been trepanned) who will swear by the procedure. But the modern medical community cannot begin to fathom how someone can let anyone drill a hole in their heads in the name of medicine.

Whether trepanation is really beneficial or not, one thing is certain - it can be very dangerous. If trepanation is done by someone who does not know what they are doing, or if the procedure is messed up, there is a very real possibility of meningitis and death.