doctors who operated on themselves.
By impactEDnurse • Mar 3rd, 2010 • Category: ectopics, the nurses desk:From Listverse comes two cases of extreme DIY surgery:
Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane:
“Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane was a pioneer in the medical profession and chief surgeon of New York City’s Kane Summit Hospital. Kane wanted to prove to the world that general anesthesia was often unnecessary for minor operations. He used himself for a test case and operated on himself removing his own appendix using only local anesthetic. Dr. Kane propped himself up on the operating table with a mirror over his abdomen and three other doctors in the operating room as backup. Kane made the large incision needed to remove the appendix and his assistants sutured him up. (This was before new techniques allowed doctors to make small ‘Band-Aid’-size incisions for appendix removal). Then, in 1932, at age 70, Dr. Kane performed an even more complicated surgery on himself to repair an inguinal hernia. Because of the close proximity to the femoral artery it was a particularly delicate operation which Kane performed it in just under two hours.
The photo above is from his hernia repair and when performing the surgery Kane was very relaxed and even joking as he came within millimeters of important blood vessels.”
:: listverse::
Doctor Leonid Rogozovwas:
“At the age of 27 Soviet Doctor Leonid Rogozovwas was stationed at the Novolazarevskaya base in the Antarctic. The doctor recognized his own acute appendicitis and worsening condition. Because of the absence of a support aircraft and inclement weather along with the danger of a burst appendix the doctor decided he would have to perform surgery on himself. With the team’s meteorologist holding the retractors, a driver to hold the mirror and other scientists passing surgical implements, he sat in a reclined position and cut out his own appendix under local anesthetic. During the operation he passed out, but was able to continue and complete the procedure in little less than two hours.
A detailed report was written by Dr Rogozov documenting the unusual event along with the photo shown above. The doctor made a full recovery and resumed all duties in two weeks.”
:: listverse::
impactEDnurse is also known as Ian Miller, a nurse with over 26 years experience working in a busy emergency department in, Australia. This site in no way reflects the opinions of that hospital.
All stories (although based on actual experiences) have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.
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Some twisted stuff.
Does this mean we will see nurse performing tasks such as showering, wiping a patients bum, feeding, administering drugs and talking to patients on themselves?
I don’t know about you guys but I think I need a general for the last one….
I’m not sure the context is meant to say the same for self-nursing practice =P
Procedures that we do on the ward as part of regular nursing duties are by classification ‘medical’ anyway. That being said the temptation to whip an IDC in or hydrate via IV (maybe even a combination of both) on a particularly heel-dragging shift, has come up, hahaha.
Let the controversy begin…
I hear that self-administration of O2 is a good way to get over a hangover…..
And the intrepid young Russian fellow is the very reason that all ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition) medical officers _must_ have a prophylactic appendicectomy prior to wintering at any Australian Antarctic station.
A relative of ours was an Austrian immigrant who became an obstetrician in the States, and performed his own circumcision without anesthetic. Unfortunately he passed out and was found in his office by the nurses. Not quite a heroic endeavor, but still brave, I suppose.
Brian and Jo – I’ve heard paramedics talk about bolusing themselves with saline to get over a hangover. I thought a caffeine drip from the NICU would be nice, but the doses probably aren’t high enough.