Leonid Rogozov

Leonid Ivanovich Rogosow (Russian Леонид Иванович Рогозов, scientific transliteration Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov; born March 14, 1934, the station Daurija, Rajon Borsja, Oblast Chita, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, † 21 September 2000 in Saint Petersburg ) was a Soviet surgeon who became world famous in 1961 because he has done as the first and so far only person in himself an appendectomy with local anesthesia.

Early years

Rogosow in 1934 in the village ( station ) Daurija, Chita Oblast ( region today Transbaikalia ), born, a remote village only 17 km from the eastern border triangle Soviet Union, China and Mongolia, where the Chinese city Manjur is.

His father Ivan Prochorowitsch Rogosow (1905-1943) was motorists mother Eudoxia Jemeljanowna ( b. 1908 ) was a milkmaid. Rogosow was the third of four children. His family was moved soon after his birth from political motives to Alma- Ata and moved in 1936 Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk region, where Rogosow went to secondary school. His father came around to the front in World War II in 1943. After the seventh grade Rogosow attended the School of Forestry. Thereafter, however, he returned to the school of general education and locked it. After his army service, he began to study medicine at the Therapeutic Faculty of the Leningrad Pediatric Institute (now Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University )

Working in Antarctica

Rogosow completed his studies in 1959 and then immediately started with his specialist training for surgeons. Although he was nearing completion of his dissertation, he interrupted his surgical residency training after about a year, since he participated as a doctor in the 6th Soviet Antarctic Expedition. Together with the twelve other members of the expedition he went on 5 November 1960, the ship " Ob" to Antarctica from where they arrived seafaring in December 1960 after 36 days. After nine weeks of preparation work, the new Soviet - Nowolasarewskaja Antarctica station was opened on 18 February 1961 in the Schirmacher Oasis. In addition to its main task as an expedition doctor, he was also employed as a meteorologist and as a truck driver. During the first winter in Antarctica station, the event that made ​​the 27 -year-old surgeon world-famous happened.

Disease

On the morning of April 29, 1961 Rogosow discovered in itself alarming symptoms: weakness, nausea, increased body temperature, and pain in the right lower abdomen. On April 30, the temperature rose further and he got the symptoms of a localized peritonitis, which pointed to appendicitis. His diagnosis: acute appendicitis. A conservative treatment ( rest, local cooling and antibiotics) was unsuccessful. By the evening of April 30, his condition deteriorated considerably. Since he was the only doctor of the 13 - man expedition, he could expect no help in his life-threatening condition on site. Help from surrounding Antarctica stations was also not possible. There was very bad weather and in the vicinity there was also research stations in other countries, no planes. The next Soviet Antarctic station, which had an aircraft that was the Mirny station, it was over 1600 miles away. To save his life, Rogosow had no other choice but to immediately perform the operation locally on himself.

Operation

As an operating room was only a down to a bed and two bedside cabinets emptied residential accommodation available. He was supported by the meteorologists Aleksander Artemyev, who handed him the necessary instruments sowei by the mechanical engineer Sinovi Teplinski. He had the task of Rogosow with a small round mirror to allow the view of the surgical wound and to make a makeshift table lamp for lighting. The head of the polar station Vladislav Gerbowitsch was ready, that one of the other two helpers to pass out during surgery and could be out for the event. Finally, the helpers were previously never been to a bloody medical procedure there. Rogosow later reported that his two helpers were dressed in white coats pale at the beginning of the operation.

Rogosow began operation on May 1 by 2 clock at night local time (22 clock Moscow time ). He lay with increased upper body half on the left. After local anesthesia with 0.5% novocaine he made with a scalpel a 12 -cm-long incision in the right lower abdomen. Briefly got a wide member of the expedition permission to enter the room to take pictures.

At times, looked Rogosow for surgery in the mirror, sometimes it worked only after feeling by he groped with his bare hands in the surgical wound. He removed the inflamed appendix extension and applied antibiotics in the abdominal cavity. The inflamed Wurmfotzsatz was close to the perforation ( according to other sources, he pointed at the base already about 2 × 2 cm perforation ).

30 to 40 minutes after surgical beginning a strong general weakness with dizziness developed in Rogosow. Therefore, he had to make during the operation a short break. After a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes, the operation was terminated.

Five days later, his body temperature was normal, after another two days, the sutures were removed. Two weeks after surgery he was able to pursue his duties on the expedition again.

Another Journey

Rogosow returned in October 1962 along with the rest of the team from the Antarctic expedition to Leningrad back. After a year he graduated in October 1963 from his training as a surgeon. In March 1963 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and began in the same year a post graduate course at the Pediatric Institute in Leningrad. After three years he defended successfully his doctoral dissertation in 1966 as the candidate of sciences (equivalent to a PhD ) with the title: "On the resection of the lower third of the esophagus in esophageal cancer ."

In his career full Rogosow first worked from 1966 to 1967 as a surgeon, then until 1979 as assistant professor of clinical surgery at the First Medical University " Academician IP Pavlov " Leningrad. Then he was back working as a surgeon at various hospitals of Leningrad from 1979 to 1986. In the period from 1986 to 2000 he was Head of Department of Surgery of the lymph -abdominal tuberculosis of the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg ) Research Institute for Phthisiopneumologie. In 1971 he was on duty in Bulgaria. He spoke fluent Bulgarian and could communicate in English, German and Czech.

Rogosow died at the age of 66 years in Saint Petersburg on postoperative consequences after surgery for lung cancer.

In the Arctic and Antarctic Museum in St. Petersburg, the surgical instruments are issued, which Rogosow has performed the surgery itself.