Today in History - April 29: Doctor trapped in Antarctic base cuts out his own appendix

Thousands of kilometres from help, a Russian doctor had to cut out his own appendix in Antarctica after falling ill on April 29, 1961.

Leonid Rogozov was the sole doctor at the brand new Novolazarevskaya Station when he fell ill that morning.

The 27-year-old was feeling weak, nauseous and feverish, with pain in his abdomen.

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"It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends?" he wrote in his diary.

"Who could be of help?"

By the next day, it became apparent he was suffering from peritonitis and was in a grave condition.

But Rogozov was 1600km from the nearest research station, and neither station had a plane available.

At that time of year, Novolazarevskaya Station was reaching temperatures of -15 degrees and long hours of darkness.

"I have to think through the only possible way out: to operate on myself," he wrote.

"It's almost impossible, but I can't just fold my arms and give up."

Under local anaesthetic, Rogozov made a 12cm cut, accidentally cutting open his large intestine.

He had to suture the wound before cutting out his own appendix.

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Two other station crew members assisted in the operation. One would pass instruments, and the other stood with a mirror so Rogozov could see what he was doing.

But it was a delicate operation, marked by frequent stops so Rogozov could recover from powerful spells of nausea.

In the end it took Rogozov two hours to remove his appendix and stitch himself back up.

Examining the appendix, Rogozov concluded it would have burst within a day had it not been removed.

After two weeks of recovery time, he was able to resume his duties as the station doctor.

He returned to the USSR more than a year later, and continued his career as a surgeon.

He died in 2000, aged 66.

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