Editing Bilateral cingulotomy (section)

== Case studies ==
A 2002 study conducted at the [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] analyzed the outcome of bilateral cingulotomy in 44 patients for the treatment of OCD in the period between 1965 and 1986. Patients were followed up over a long term and evaluated based on several criteria: 1) how many of them were responders{{efn|Here, "responder" refers to a clinical trial patient who saw a 35% or greater reduction in their [[Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale]] metric as well as self-reported OCD symptoms, depression, or anxiety as either "moderately" or "much better" as a result of a cingulotomy. The study also considers "partial responders", or individuals who saw clinical noted improvement in just one metric or were able to attribute their health outcomes to another procedure or intervention.}} after a period of six months, 2) how many cingulotomies a patient had undergone before the examination of the effectiveness of the procedure, 3) whether the patient showed any significant change after the most recent procedure, and 4) what the side effects related to the procedure were.<ref name = "Dougherty"/>

The follow-up of the patients produced contradictory results, which indicated that bilateral cingulotomy is not the optimal treatment for OCD.<ref name = "Dougherty"/> Of the 44 patients, only 32% both fit the "responder" criteria and showed significant improvement compared to the other subjects. Another 14% exhibited some signs of improvement. Multiple cingulotomies correlated with a higher likelihood of continuing to respond to follow-up inquiries (6% more often fit the full "responder" criteria, 11% more often fit the partial "responder" criteria). However, the side effects associated with the procedure were numerous. Among the complaints that patients had after the surgery were [[apathy]] and deficits in memory, although these were rarely reported. In addition, some subjects complained of some form of [[urinary]] disturbance, ranging from [[urinary retention]] to [[Urinary incontinence|incontinence]]. [[Hydrocephalus]] (2%) and seizures (2%) were also observed.<ref name="Dougherty">{{cite journal | pmid = 11823270| year = 2002| last1 = Dougherty| first1 = D. D.| last2 = Baer| first2 = L.| last3 = Cosgrove| first3 = G. R.| last4 = Cassem| first4 = E. H.| last5 = Price| first5 = B. H.| last6 = Nierenberg| first6 = A. A.| last7 = Jenike| first7 = M. A.| last8 = Rauch| first8 = S. L.| title = Prospective long-term follow-up of 44 patients who received cingulotomy for treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder| journal = The American Journal of Psychiatry| volume = 159| issue = 2| pages = 269–275| doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.2.269}}</ref>

Bilateral cingulotomy has also been used in the treatment of chronic refractory pain. A systematic review of 11 studies encompassing 224 patients found that anterior cingulotomy led to significant pain relief in greater than 60% of patients post-operatively as well as at one year following the procedure.<ref name="Pouratian 2016"/> Of the included studies, one clinical study investigated the effect of bilateral cingulotomy for the treatment of [[refractory]] [[chronic pain]].<ref name = " Wilkinson"/> In this case, 23 patients who were subject to 28 cingulotomies in total were followed up. The analyses aimed at determining how much the pain of each individual was affected after the procedure with the help of a questionnaire. In addition, the examiners tried to evaluate the impacts on social and family relations of the participants in the study.  Based on the data obtained, cingulotomy for treatment of chronic pain showed promising results. 72% reported improvement in the level of pain experienced, and 50% indicated that they no longer required painkillers after cingulotomy. More than half of the patients also claimed that the surgical procedure was beneficial and contributed to the improvement of their social interactions.<ref name=" Wilkinson">{{cite journal | pmid = 10549929| year = 1999| last1 = Wilkinson| first1 = H. A.| last2 = Davidson| first2 = K. M.| last3 = Davidson| first3 = R. I.| title = Bilateral anterior cingulotomy for chronic noncancer pain| journal = Neurosurgery| volume = 45| issue = 5| pages = 1129-34; discussion 1134-6| doi = 10.1097/00006123-199911000-00023}}</ref>