Cotton became convinced that insanity was fundamentally a toxic disorder and he surgically removed body parts to try to improve mental health.[1] This often began with the removal of teeth and tonsils:
An 18 year-old girl with agitated depression successively had her upper and lower molars extracted, a tonsillectomy, sinus drainage, treatment for an infected cervix, removal of intestinal adhesions—all without effecting improvement in her psychiatric condition. Then the remainder of her teeth were removed and she was sent home, pronounced cured.[1]