Abstract
Autoappendectomy in the Antarctic: Case Report
(BMJ. 2009;339:4965) V Rogozov, N Bermel
Prepared by Anil Menon, MD, UTMB/NASA Aerospace Medicine Fellow, Galveston, TX, USA
Autoappendectomy is the practice of performing an appendectomy on oneself. Though there have been previous reports of autoappendectomies supported by medical assistants, this case report describes the first wilderness autoappendectomy performed by a solo practitioner. On November 5, 1960 the ship Ob left Leningrad to establish the Antarctic base Novolazarevskaya. The team carried one 27-year-old surgeon named Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov. On April 29 he noted symptoms of weakness, malaise, nausea, and right lower quadrant pain. By April 30 he started antibiotics but documented worsening symptoms with fever and recurrent vomiting. That day he enlisted a mechanic and a meteorologist to help him with the autoappendectomy. They cleaned his room, leaving his bed and a table, and sterilized it with ultraviolet light. In a semireclined position with his right hip elevated, he began the open appendectomy using procaine as a local anesthetic. He stated, “Somehow I automatically switched into operation mode and from that point on I didn't notice anything else.” The operation lasted 45 minutes, and he survived return to Russia 1 year later and lived until September 21, 2000.