In 1953, Molaison was referred to William Beecher Scoville, a neurosurgeon at Hartford Hospital. Scoville localized his epilepsy to the left and right medial temporal lobes (MTLs) and suggested their surgical resection. On September 1, 1953, Scoville removed Molaison's medial temporal lobes on both hemispheres including the hippocampus and most of the amygdala and entorhinal cortex, the major sensory input to the hippocampus. His hippocampi appeared entirely nonfunctional because the remaining 2 cm of hippocampal tissue appeared to have atrophied and some of his anterolateral temporal cortex was also destroyed.