Antarctica, 1961: A Soviet Surgeon Has to Remove His Own Appendix
In 1961, Leonid Rogozov was stationed at a newly constructed Russian base in Antarctica. Transportation was impossible. Operating mostly by feeling around, Rogozov worked for an hour and 45 minutes, cutting himself open and removing the appendix. The men he’d chosen as assistants watched as the “calm and focused” doctor completed the operation, resting every five minutes for a few seconds as he battled vertigo and weakness. He recalled the operation in a journal entry:
“I worked without gloves. I work mainly by touch. With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. At the worst moment of removing the appendix I flagged: my heart seized up and noticeably slowed; my hands felt like rubber. Just a little reminder that humans can complete some pretty amazing physical feats when their lives hang in the balance.”
(Via The Atlantic Monthly)