Have you heard about the doctor who performed a successful appendectomy on himself?
Well, this is the most famous appendectomy ever done and the man at the center of it all is no other than Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov.
Dr. Rogozov was the doctor (a General Practitioner) responsible for the health of 13 researchers who were stationed at the Novolazarevskaya station as part of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition.
Early on the 29th of April 1961, Dr. Rogozov woke up feeling rather unwell. He had nausea and mild fever as well as pain around the umbilical area.
By the end of the day, the fever was worse and the pain had moved to the lower right flank of his abdomen. The pain was aggravated by activity and as a physician himself, he knew this was likely an inflammation of the appendix so he tried some antibiotics and pain pills but it only got worse. 
At this time, there was great apprehension in the camp. The nearest station was 1600km away and it was a brutal winter, not a vehicle nor aircraft in sight and with a snow storm on the way, there was no chance of any help coming.
Dr. Rogozov had two options. He could wail and cry and die or he could operate on himself. He chose the latter.
At about 2am on the 1st of May 1961, he stated the operation using local anesthesia similar to the one you get at the Dentists to numb the skin of his abdomen. He used the help of a driver and a meteorologist. One held a mirror for him and the other passed him instruments.
Dr. Rogozov later said the reflected images from the mirror was so bad that he did most of the surgery just feeling with his bare fingers.
It wasn’t smooth at all, he accidentally cut his cecum and had to suture it back. He also developed worsening of the weakness and nausea so he had to take frequent breaks.
After 4 long hours, the surgery was over. He had cut out the appendix and poured antibiotics directly into the peritoneal cavity to control infection.
Dr. Rogozov observed his appendix to have had a dark stain at its base and estimated it would have burst open in about 24 hours.
Brave man Dr. Rogozov was. The lesson for all is that pain starting around the umbilicus and later moving to the right lower abdominal area often associated with nausea is suggestive of acute appendicitis. There may be associated fever and worsening of pain with movement.
It may not be as straightforward sometimes. An ectopic pregnancy may present like this too, but generally speaking, pain in the right lower abdomen is something you should take seriously all the time. Go to the ER!
