Leonid Rogozov

Rogozov died in 2000, aged 66, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from lung cancer.

In October 1962, Rogozov returned to Leningrad and started working on an MD at his alma mater. In September 1966 he published a dissertation entitled Resection of the esophagus for treating esophageal cancer. He later worked as a doctor in various hospitals in Leningrad. From 1986 to 2000 he served as the head of the surgery department of Saint Petersburg Research Institute for Tubercular Pulmonology.

On the morning of 29 April 1961, Rogozov experienced general weakness, nausea, and moderate fever, and later pain in the lower right portion of his abdomen. None of the possible conservative treatments helped. By 30 April signs of localised peritonitis became apparent, and his condition worsened considerably by the evening. Mirny, the nearest Soviet research station, was more than 1,000 miles from Novolazarevskaya. Antarctic research stations of other countries did not have an aircraft available. Severe blizzard conditions prevented aircraft landing in any case. Rogozov had no option but to perform an operation on himself.

The self-surgery, which was photographed by his colleagues, captured the imagination of the Soviet public at the time. In 1961 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. The incident resulted in a change of policy, and thereafter, extensive health checks were mandatory for personnel to be deployed on such expeditions.

From September 1960 until October 1962, Rogozov worked in Antarctica, in his role as the sole doctor for a team of thirteen researchers at the Novolazarevskaya Station, established in January 1961.

Leonid Rogozov was born in Borzinsky District Dauriya Station, Chita Oblast, a remote village in eastern Siberia, a little over 10 miles from the Soviet border with Mongolia and China, near Manzhouli. His father was killed in World War II in 1943. In 1953, Rogozov completed his studies at a secondary school in Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and was admitted to the Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute now Saint Petersburg. After graduating in 1959 as a general practitioner, he started clinical training to specialise in surgery. In September 1960, at the age of 26, he interrupted his training and joined the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition as a medical doctor.

Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov (Russian: Леони́д Ива́нович Ро́гозов; 14 March 1934 – 21 September 2000) was a Soviet general practitioner who took part in the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1960–1961. In April 1961 he had developed appendicitis while at Novolazarevskaya Station, and being the only medical professional there at the time, had to perform his own appendectomy.