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Wednesday 23 January 2013

The Surgeon Who Operated On Himself (PHOTO)


In 1961, Leonid Rogozov, 27, was the only surgeon in the Soviet Antarctic Expedition. During the expedition, he felt severe pain in the stomach and had a high fever. Rogozov examined himself and discovered that his appendix was inflamed and could burst at any time. 


His body temperature rose to 37.5Ã?°C.1 2 Rogozov wrote in his diary: 

"It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends? Who could be of help? A polar explorer's only encounter with medicine is likely to have been in a dentist's chair." 

On the next day after all the available conservative treatment was applied (antibiotics, local cooling) Rogozov decided to perform a self surgeon. 
With the team's meteorologist holding the retractors, a driver to hold the mirror and other scientists passing surgical implements, he sat in a reclined position and cut out his own appendix under local anesthetic. 

During the operation he passed out, but was able to continue and complete the procedure in little less than two hours.



With a local anesthesia, he operated himself to remove the appendix. An engineer and a meteorologist assisted surgery. Wow!

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