The Soviet Doctor Who Removed His Own Appendix

Picture this: You're the only doctor at a remote Antarctic research station. A blizzard rages outside. The nearest help is over 1,000 miles away. And you've just diagnosed yourself with acute appendicitis.

For most people, this would be a death sentence. For 27-year-old Soviet surgeon Leonid Rogozov, it was Tuesday.

When Your Patient Is You

On April 29, 1961, Rogozov woke up with symptoms he recognized immediately: weakness, nausea, fever, and that telltale pain in his lower right abdomen. As the sole physician among thirteen researchers at Novolazarevskaya Station, he knew exactly what was happening. His appendix was inflamed and getting worse by the hour.

By April 30, the signs were unmistakable. Localised peritonitis had set in. Without surgery, the appendix would rupture, spilling infection throughout his abdominal cavity. He had perhaps days, maybe hours.

His options were:

• Wait for rescue that couldn't come (blizzard conditions, no aircraft available)
• Radio the nearest Soviet station 1,000+ miles away for advice
• Perform surgery on himself

Rogozov chose option three.

Operating Theater: Population One

At 2:00 AM local time on May 1, the makeshift operating room was ready. Rogozov's assistants were a driver and a meteorologist—neither had medical training. Their job: hand him instruments, hold a mirror so he could see his own abdomen, and not pass out.

Rogozov injected himself with local anesthesia and made the incision. He started with the mirror, but the inverted reflection was too disorienting. So he did what any reasonable person would do when performing surgery on themselves: he worked by touch, without gloves, feeling his way through his own abdominal cavity.

Every 15-20 minutes, he had to pause. Waves of vertigo and weakness washed over him. This is fine, he probably didn't think, because he was too busy keeping himself alive.

The Most Metal 105 Minutes Ever

One hour and forty-five minutes after the first incision, Rogozov pulled out his severely inflamed appendix. It had been on the verge of rupturing. If he'd waited even one more day, the infection would likely have killed him.

He sutured himself up, bandaged the wound, and presumably needed the world's longest nap.

Two weeks later, he was back to his regular duties. No complications. No infection. Just another day at the office, if your office is a frozen wasteland at the bottom of the world.

Legacy of the Loneliest Surgeon

Rogozov's self-surgery became legendary in medical circles. The Soviet government awarded him the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1961. More importantly, the incident led to policy changes: from then on, Antarctic personnel had to undergo extensive health screenings before deployment.

Rogozov continued his medical career after returning from Antarctica and later became head of surgery at a hospital in Leningrad. He died in 2000 at age 66 from lung cancer, having lived a full life that included one really weird Tuesday in Antarctica.

The operation remains one of only a handful of documented self-surgeries in history—and certainly the most successful one performed under such extreme conditions. It's a testament to human determination, surgical skill, and the kind of problem-solving that makes you think twice before complaining about a bad day at work.