Doctor’s Patient Was Himself

The Doctor Who Operated On Himself

You know how when we feel sick, the first thing we do is go to a doctor? But what if... the doctor himself gets sick? And there’s no other doctor around to help? What then?

It sounds crazy, but something like that really happened. A doctor once did his own surgery. I know it sounds mad... but this guy had no choice. It’s a true story from history. His name was Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov, and in 1961, stuck in Antarctica with no help, he cut himself open and took his own appendix out to save his life. This story became a legendary moment in medical history.

Leonid was born on March 14, 1934 in a small village called Dauriya, in what was then the Soviet Union (now Russia). He studied medicine from Saint Petersburg Pediatric Medical University and became a general doctor and surgeon. He was smart and skilled, and because of that, in 1960, he was sent on the Soviet Union’s sixth Antarctic expedition.

From September 1960 till October 1962, Leonid lived in Antarctica as the only doctor with a team of 13 researchers at a place called Novolazarevskaya Station. The place was cold, silent, and isolated. No phones. No rescue. They had to live and work in one of the harshest places on Earth for one whole year. Leonid's job was to keep everyone healthy... but fate had a wild plan for him.

On the morning of April 29, 1961, Leonid started feeling weak, nauseous, and had a slight fever. Then the pain started—sharp pain on the lower right side of his belly. Being a surgeon, he quickly knew the signs. It was appendicitis. And the only fix for that... surgery. But the closest Soviet station was over 1,000 miles away. And the weather was too bad for helicopters. There was no way out.

By the next day, his condition got worse. His stomach was swelling, and it was clear now—if he didn’t do something fast, his appendix would burst and he would die.

So he made the most insane decision... He decided to operate on himself.

Yeah. Seriously.

He knew it was his only chance. It was either take the risk, or die slow and painful. He planned everything out. Picked two of his teammates to help him: one was a weather guy and the other was a mechanic. Not trained at all. So he taught them basic stuff—how to hold tools, how to aim the light, how to clean the blood.

He placed a mirror in front of him so he could see his belly. Usually surgery is done under full anesthesia, but of course, he couldn’t knock himself out. So he injected 0.5% Novocain on the lower right side of his stomach to numb the area.

At 2 AM, May 1st, 1961, the operation started.

He lay on his side, bent over a bit to make it easier. First, he made a cut about 10-12 cm long on his belly. While cutting deeper, he accidentally sliced a bit of his cecum (part of the intestine), but he stitched it back quickly. Then he finally reached his appendix.

He saw a dark patch at the base of it. That meant it could’ve burst any moment. He was lucky.

But it wasn’t easy. The mirror made left and right feel reversed, and that messed things up a lot. He felt dizzy, weak, and had to stop every 30–40 minutes to rest. Blood, pain, cold hands, nausea... and he was doing all this while awake.

Still... he kept going.

Finally, around 4 AM, he managed to cut the appendix out, clean the area, and inject antibiotics into his belly. Then, with help, he stitched himself back up.

That’s not even the end.

He was in terrible shape, totally exhausted, in pain. But he kept going. With the help of his two assistants, he stitched up all the layers of his stomach, one by one. Over the next five days, his symptoms started improving. Fever went away. After one week, he removed his own stitches. And after two weeks... he was back to work like normal.

In 1961, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour for his bravery. The Soviet government even changed some of its rules because of this—after this event, anyone going to Antarctica had to go through deep health screening to avoid such emergencies.

Later on, Leonid went back to Russia and worked the rest of his life as a doctor and professor. In 1966, he even published a medical paper on esophageal cancer surgery. He passed away on September 21, 2000, in Saint Petersburg, aged 66.

But his name his story it’s not forgotten.

What he did was not just a medical miracle. It was a story of courage, survival, and self-belief. He showed the world that even when all hope is lost... a human being can do the impossible if they don’t give up.

When there’s no help, when the way forward looks blocked—we still got our mind, our hands, and our will.

That’s what Dr. Leonid Rogozov proved to the world.

And that’s why... his story will live forever.

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