Leonid Rogozov

Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov was a Russian general practitioner and surgeon who took part in the Sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition at Novolazarevskaya Station from September 1960 to October 1962. He is best known for performing a surgery to remove his own appendix—an auto-appendectomy—after he began suffering from appendicitis while deployed there in April 1961. The incident, which occurred because Rogozov was the only medical professional among his entire team, prompted the Soviet government to reform the safety policies for all personnel at the country's Antarctic research facilities.