MADHOUSE

In 1907 Dr. Henry Cotton took charge of New Jersey’s state insane asylum, convinced that mental illness was caused by bacterial infection in the body. For over 20 years he began a program of removing teeth, tonsils, uteruses, and colons, often forcibly, believing that if he could remove hidden infections, he could cure the insane. He claimed an 85% cure rate, when the death rate from his colon surgery was close to 30%. The operations continued unabated until Cotton’s death in 1933, and in fact teeth removal at the Trenton asylum was still routine up until 1960. University of California San Diego Professor of Sociology and Science Andrew Scull has just written an expose of this medical horror story, and its cover-up, called Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine. Larry Mantle talks with the author.

In 1907 Dr. Henry Cotton took charge of New Jersey’s state insane asylum, convinced that mental illness was caused by bacterial infection in the body. For over 20 years he began a program of removing teeth, tonsils, uteruses, and colons, often forcibly, believing that if he could remove hidden infections, he could cure the insane. He claimed an 85% cure rate, when the death rate from his colon surgery was close to 30%. The operations continued unabated until Cotton’s death in 1933, and in fact teeth removal at the Trenton asylum was still routine up until 1960. University of California San Diego Professor of Sociology and Science Andrew Scull has just written an expose of this medical horror story, and its cover-up, called Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine. Larry Mantle talks with the author.