Science has evolved significantly over the years. The fight against cancer, research into all kinds of diseases or innovations and investments to improve our lives are of great importance because they increase our life expectancy and, above all, enable us Find solutions to critical health situations. Health workers and scientists are essential to our daily lives and to one another. This was the case with Leonid Rózogov, a surgeon who had to operate on appendicitis because he was alone in Antarctica and it was a matter of life or death.
The story goes back to an expedition in 1960. Rógozov, A Russian doctor, at the age of 26 he was assigned as a surgeon to the Soviet Antarctic expedition, a mission that would last just over a year. One day, when he found himself at the Novolázarevskaya base on the frozen continent, began experiencing symptoms of weakness, fever, and nausea. The pain increased as the days went by, although he tried to relieve it with a large amount of medication, which was not enough.
Leonid Rózogov, the Russian surgeon who had to operate on himself to survive appendicitis in Antarctica
His health deteriorated and I couldn’t go to a hospital because the base was very far from any city.. They also had no aircraft available and The weather conditions were not favorable. On the other hand, The expedition team companions had no medical training.Alternating current. Everything against it, then He was left with only one option: self-surgery.
When he operated on himself, he had to avoid general anesthesia. He explained to his colleagues step by step what they had to do if he lost consciousness during an operation and how they should wash the surgical materials To perform the operation, he used a mirror that he looked into to perform the operation in perfect conditions.
However, the operation conducted at the same base had minor setbacks He managed to remove his appendix, solving the problem of appendicitis he was suffering from and preventing it from turning into peritonitis. -something that would have affected the abdominal cavity and could have resulted in death. After injecting himself with antibiotics during surgery, he fainted but woke up a few hours later.
The Russian surgeon spent five days with fever and tAfter two weeks of recovery, he resumed his missionary work and ensured that the Soviet expedition continued on its course.
This story is unprecedented and surprises everyone who hears it. Since then, many doctors, scientists or experts who have to carry out an expedition in Antarctica decide to go to the hospital beforehand to remove the appendix and thus avoid the same situation.
Although it was not the only case of self-surgery in history. According to the research results, There were three other cases: Jerri Lin Nielsenan American doctor who underwent a mastectomy to combat breast cancer in 1998, also in Antarctica; Evan O’Neil Kanewho performed a self-amputation of two infected fingers and an appendectomy in 1921, and Deborah Sampsonan American woman who posed as a man to take part in the war in 1782, and after suffering two projectile hits in the leg, she had to try to remove them with a razor (she only managed to remove one).