Franck Brisset
P h o t o g r a p h s
Addict / Brain Institute St Petersburg 1998
September 1998, St.Pettersburg Russia.
In the year 1998, Russian scientists pioneered a neurosurgical procedure aimed at combating drug addiction. This medical approach had its origins at the esteemed St. Petersburg Human Brain Institute.
The essence of this anti-addiction therapy involved the creation of a minute aperture in both the cranial and scalp regions, facilitating the precise extraction of approximately one cubic millimeter of cerebral tissue from each hemisphere.
Similar to numerous other anti-addiction treatments employed in Russia, this particular approach started to provoke controversy when attending physicians made the deliberate choice to eschew the customary administration of general anesthesia. Instead, they opted to abstain from this practice in order to meticulously monitor their patients' physiological responses during the intricate cerebral probing procedure.
It was in August 2002 when a patient achieved a legal victory against the St. Petersburg Human Brain Institute. The verdict stated that the surgical procedure remained ensconced in an experimental realm, devoid of official endorsement from the Ministry of Health. In the aftermath of this significant legal triumph, Russian authorities, in conjunction with the prosecutorial apparatus of St. Petersburg, expeditiously imposed an immediate cessation of all ongoing operations.
In the year 1998, Russian scientists pioneered a neurosurgical procedure aimed at combating drug addiction. This medical approach had its origins at the esteemed St. Petersburg Human Brain Institute.
The essence of this anti-addiction therapy involved the creation of a minute aperture in both the cranial and scalp regions, facilitating the precise extraction of approximately one cubic millimeter of cerebral tissue from each hemisphere.
Similar to numerous other anti-addiction treatments employed in Russia, this particular approach started to provoke controversy when attending physicians made the deliberate choice to eschew the customary administration of general anesthesia. Instead, they opted to abstain from this practice in order to meticulously monitor their patients' physiological responses during the intricate cerebral probing procedure.
It was in August 2002 when a patient achieved a legal victory against the St. Petersburg Human Brain Institute. The verdict stated that the surgical procedure remained ensconced in an experimental realm, devoid of official endorsement from the Ministry of Health. In the aftermath of this significant legal triumph, Russian authorities, in conjunction with the prosecutorial apparatus of St. Petersburg, expeditiously imposed an immediate cessation of all ongoing operations.
