One well - known successful lobotomy story was that of Rosemary Kennedy. After the lobotomy, her violent mood swings were reduced. However, it also had some negative impacts on her cognitive abilities.
A few lobotomy success stories involved patients who had intractable epilepsy along with severe behavioral problems. In some instances, the lobotomy reduced the frequency of seizures and also had a calming effect on their behavior. But we must remember that at that time, the understanding of the brain was very limited. What was considered success might just have been a masking of symptoms rather than a true cure. And as we have advanced in neuroscience, we now know that there were much better alternatives that could have been explored without resorting to such a drastic and irreversible procedure.
One horror story is about patients who had lobotomies and completely lost their personalities. They became like zombies, with no emotions or the ability to think complexly. Their families were devastated as they watched their loved ones transform into mere shells of their former selves.
There was also a patient in a mental institution who underwent a lobotomy. After the procedure, his personality completely changed. He went from being a somewhat shy but normal man to being completely apathetic. He would sit for hours without any emotion, staring blankly. The idea that a surgical procedure could so drastically alter a person's essence is truly terrifying.
Lobotomy horror stories are disturbing because it was a medical procedure that was misused. Doctors at the time didn't fully understand the brain, and they performed lobotomies on people who didn't really need such a drastic measure. People ended up losing their mental faculties, and their lives were ruined. For instance, patients who could have been treated with other therapies were instead given lobotomies, and their futures were essentially taken away from them.
One common theme is the exploration of power and control. In many such books, lobotomy is used as a tool by those in power (like in institutions) to subdue patients. For example, in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', Nurse Ratched uses the threat of lobotomy as a means of controlling the patients.
Some fanfictions might explore the relationships between the Abnormalities. Maybe a story where two Abnormalities that are usually kept separate somehow interact and form an unexpected bond. It could also be a story about an employee who discovers a way to communicate with an Abnormality on a deeper level, beyond the standard procedures, and how that changes their perspective on the whole Lobotomy Corporation operation. Additionally, a fanfiction could be set during a containment breach and follow a group of employees trying to survive and restore order.
There is also 'The Bell Jar' which, while not directly centered on lobotomy, touches on the mental health issues and the extreme treatments that were sometimes considered in that era, which could potentially include lobotomy in the broader context of mental health treatments.
One idea could be exploring the backstories of the employees in more detail. Maybe there's an employee who has a special connection to one of the Abnormalities, and the fanfic could focus on how that relationship develops over time.
There could also be some sort of supervisor or researcher characters. They might play a crucial role in understanding the Melting Love. They could be the ones making decisions about how to handle it, studying its behavior, and trying to keep the situation under control. For example, a head researcher who has been studying anomalies for a long time and has a particular interest in the Melting Love.