Post-lobotomy epilepsy illustrated by the story of Ellinor Hamsun, the daughter of the famous Norwegian author Knut Hamsun

In Scandinavia, at least 11.500 people were lobotomized in the period 1939-1983. Beside grave personality changes, the surgery caused epilepsy in 10-35% of the patients. Moreover, many died due to perioperative bleedings, convulsive status epilepticus or SUDEP. Most of the stories of these people are anonymous and their post-lobotomy lives are scarcely documented. If it was not for the fact that Ellinor Hamsun (1916-1987) was the daughter of the famous Nobel Prize winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, her lobotomy story and the subsequent iatrogenic epilepsy would probably have remained unknown.