Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
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Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#2Wasn't this posted here in 61?
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#3That is crazy. I don't think I would have the stomach for that myself, but I guess being a surgeon already would help.
I remember a related story of and Aussie medic imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp successfully removing the appendix of a fellow prisoner with only a shard of broken glass.
Personally, I just hope I am never in a position like that.
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#4Didn't Jack do that on Lost?
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#5In 2003, hiker Aron Ralston amputated his own arm with a pocket knife after a boulder fell and pinned him down.
http://hike.mountainzone.com/2003/news/html/030502_amputate-...
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#6Many years ago (early 90s?) I looked into a job in Antarctica. The job stipulated that you had to preventatively remove your appendix prior to your tour of duty to avoid exactly this situation. I believe they also wanted you to replace your dental fillings (replacing the metal with a composite substance) to avoid problems caused by the cold (I assume).
It was all rather irrelevant to me in the end since I discovered that at the time the British Antarctic Society did not accept women (I believe this has since changed).
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#7In 2003, hiker Aron Ralston amputated his own arm with a pocket knife after a boulder fell and pinned him down. http://hike.mountainzone.com/2003/news/html/030502_amputate-...
"Ines Ramírez Pérez is a peasant woman living in rural Mexico. She had no medical training, but nevertheless performed a successful Caesarean section on herself: both she and her baby survived"
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#8That is crazy. I don't think I would have the stomach for that myself, but I guess being a surgeon already would help. I remember a related story of and Aussie medic imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp successfully removing the appendix of a fellow prisoner with only a shard of broken glass. Personally, I just hope I am never in a position like that.
The survival must have mostly been luck - what are the odds of not becoming horribly infected?
What did the surgeon use for sutures, anyway?
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#9Sheer amazing. I wonder how his vitals would have compared to a regular appendectomy? Were his vitals concurrent with an appendectomy performed so late (literally the day before it would have burst), were they better because he was focused on the task at hand, or was his vitals worse? It's a shame we'll likely never know and there'll likely never be another auto-appendectomy performed.
Re: Surgeon stationed in Antarctica removes his own appendix (1961)
#10In 2003, hiker Aron Ralston amputated his own arm with a pocket knife after a boulder fell and pinned him down. http://hike.mountainzone.com/2003/news/html/030502_amputate-...
That story still gives me the chills when he describes how he cuts into the dead flesh of his arm and the gases hiss out of the cut. Ew x 10.