An Auto Appendectomy in Antarctica

 As a lover of history, I am constantly reading articles and watching documentaries about various wild things of the past. This story is one I've been curious about for a few years. A moment in medical history, it is an incredible feat.

Leonid Rogozov speaking with a friend

At 25, Leonid Rogozov graduated from Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute - which is now Sait Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University - in 1959 as a general practitioner. He had the intention of becoming a surgeon and even began training to specialize in surgery shortly after graduation. However, Rogozov took a break from his studies to join the sixth Soviet Antarctica Expedition in 1960 as the medical doctor for 12 researchers. The expedition established the Novolazarevskaya Station in early 1961.

In April 1961, Rogozov began feeling ill and pain in his abdomen. Being the only doctor at the station he had no choice but the self-diagnose. It became clear that the young doctor had appendicitis. Appendicitis is when the appendix becomes sore, swollen and diseased. It often leads to the appendix bursting which can cause death. With the closest Soviet station being a thousand miles away and stations from other countries not having aircraft available due to the raging blizzard, Rogozov had no option but to operate on himself or face death. In his diary, he writes:

"I did not sleep at all last night. It hurts like the devil! A snow storm whipping through my soul, wailing like 100 jackals. Still no obvious symptoms that perforation is imminent, but an oppressive feeling of foreboding hangs over me...This is it...I have to think through the only possible way out - to operate on myself...It's almost impossible...but I can't just fold my arms and give up."

Rogozov had enlisted a driver, meteorologist, and a third scientist to assist him. One held a mirror to show him what he could not see, another had positioned a lamp over where the surgery would take place and the third was only there in case any of the first two could not stomach the surgery at any point. Rogozov had even instructed his assistants on what to do if he was to lose consciousness in the middle of the procedure.

On May 1, 1961, around two o'clock local time, Rogozov performed an auto-appendectomy in a semi-reclining position. He realized that the mirror was hindering him, so he performed the procedure by touch with ungloved hands. As every surgery may have complications, he accidentally cut the cecum and had to suture it. Pacing himself, he took pauses throughout as to not overexert himself. The surgery took about two hours to complete. He wrote about the surgery and even described it.

"My poor assistants! At the last minute I looked over at them. They stood there in their surgical whites, whiter than white themselves...I was scared too. But when I picked up the needle with the Novocain and give myself the first injection, somehow I automatically switched into operating mode, and from that point on I didn't notice anything else....The bleeding is quite heavy, but I take my time...Opening the peritoneum, I injured my blind gut and had to sew it up...I grow weaker and weaker, my head starts to spin. Every four to five minutes I rest for 20-25 seconds.... Finally here it is, the cursed appendage! With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst...My heart seized up and noticeably slowed, my hands felt like rubber. Well, I thought, it's going to end badly and all that was left was removing the appendix."

After the surgery was finished, Rogozov did not let himself rest until he instructed his assistants to clean the equipment and tidy the area. Only then did he take antibiotics and sleeping tablets to finally rest and recover. He was able to remove the stitches in a week and returned to his regular duties a week after that. The surgery was photographed and documented, and he would go on to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. He also caused the Soviet government to reform safety policies for all personal at the Antarctica stations and facilities in an attempt to make sure history did not repeat itself.

Leonid Rogozov

Rogozov would go on to publis a dissertation Resection of the Esophagus for Treating Esophageal Cancer in 1966 and became the head of the surgery department of Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Tubercular Pulmonology from 1986 until his death in 2000.

Leonid Rogozov died on September 21, 2000, of lung cancer. His legacy and contributions to medicine live on. His auto-appendectomy is still talked about to this day.

However, he was not the first surgeon to perform that exact procedure. In 1921, Evan O'Neil Kane did an auto-appendectomy on himself to better understand the perspective of the patient. However, Kane was in a sterile operating room, and it was not an emergency surgery as it was for Rogozov.

If you found this as interesting as I did, let me know. If you would like me to research and write about anything in history, feel free to comment!