April 13, 2000

A procedure dating back to ancient times now appears to be making a comeback in alternative medicine circles-- drilling holes in human skulls!

And today police charged a Utah man and his friend for doing just that. That medical procedure in question is called trepanation.

News specialist Jill Atwood is following this bizzare story.

First off, neither man was licensed to practice medicine. Still, they let a network news camera film the procedure and then air it. Police saw the story and now have some questions for the pair.

Trepanation is reportedly the oldest surgical procedure known to mankind. It's said to relieve pressure in the skull or even release evil spirits.

A trepanation website illustrates proof of early procedures, and less than sophisticated tools dating back thousands of years.

But surgery performed less than two months ago on a woman in Beryl, Utah, shows it's resurfacing today as a form of alternative medicine.

43-year-old Peter Halvorson allegedly did the surgery. He's no doctor, but he has done the procedure before...on himself.

"I WITHDREW THE DRILL. THE NEWLY RESTORED PULSATION BLASTED THAT BLOOD THAT ACCUMULATED UP THERE INTO A SPOUT COMING OUT OF MY FOREHEAD, AND FOR A MOMENT I FREAKED."

"THE THEORY OF TREPANATION IS THAT THE HOLE DRILLED IN THE SKULL WILL INCREASE BLOOD FLOW AND ALSO INCREASE MENTAL EFFICIENCY, BUT ASK ANY PRACTICING NEUROSURGEON AND THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT'S HOGWASH."

Dr. Charles C. Rich/Neurosurgeon, L.D.S. Hospital: "IT MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. IT REALLY VERGES ON SUPERSTITION AND QUACKERY."

Dr. Charles Rich says procedures like this should only be done in an operating room for a medical emergency. And he says any benefits a person may feel from trepanation are purely psychological.

Dr. Rich: "NOT ONLY IS THERE NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS TO HELP IN THEORY OR ON THE PRACTICAL SIDE, IT HAS SERIOUS RISKS TO THE INDIVIDUAL IT'S BEING PERFORMED."

Halvorson and another man wanted for arranging this surgery, 45-year-old William Lyons, are both charged with practicing medicine without a license.

Neither man is in custody, but there are warrants out for their arrest.