Trepanation: History’s Dumbest Medical Practice

            It’s no secret that medical practices weren’t always as effective as they are now. Years ago, many would try to cure diseases using leeches, cocaine, and Mercury. As idiotic as these practices were, they are nowhere near as terrible as trepanation. Trepanation is a surgical procedure used to put a gaping hole in someone’s head. The earliest forms of this practice date back to 6000 B.C. and many used it to ward off evil spirits. People suffering from mental illness in prehistoric times were considered to be possessed and drilling a hole into their head was believed to remove the spirit. Complications of this practice include infection, bleeding out, brain damage, etc. However, a surprising amount of people still survived despite all of these possible issues. Obviously, trepanation isn’t used in modern times but a similar practice is. Modern doctors use a procedure called craniotomy, which is the surgical removal of part of the skull. Doctors typically use this to alleviate pressure on the area or to gain access to a tumor. Although trepanation now has useful modern implications, its primitive use was undoubtedly one of the dumbest medical practices of all time.  

Source:

https://www.medicinenet.com/what_is_the_purpose_of_trepanation/article.htm

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326281