Leonid Rogozov became famous all over the world. A surgeon by profession who managed to operate on himself. The operation to remove the inflamed appendix lasted 1.5 hours. Our article is devoted to the biography of the famous surgeon. We will also tell about his family and an outstanding feat.
Rogozov's childhood
Leonid Rogozov was born in Transbaikalia. His father was a driver and his mother was a milkmaid. The family lived in poverty after the authorities took the last thing from them, considering them rich. Immediately after the “dispossession” of the Rogozovs, they were sent to Alma-Ata. But they did not stay there for long, and in 1936 they moved to Minusinsk. Leonid just turned 2 years old. Until that time, he already had an older brother and sister, and a younger one appeared in Minusinsk.
Wartime
When the war began, Father Leonid was taken to the front, where he died in 1943. Mother worked all day long till night at the logging site. And Lenya, as the most responsible, remained in charge. As one of the sisters said, he always helped everyone. He cared about others first and only thought about himself last.
Leonid's life in the post-war period
Only after the war was Leonid able to finish his studies. He finishedseven years old and entered the school for the speci alty "mining master". The profession did not attract him, but the family did not have enough money, and the students received a scholarship. Leonid tried to make life easier for his mother and diligently studied, getting fives.
Then he went to the army. After the service, I decided to visit my brother, who lived in Leningrad. Leonid liked the city so much that he decided to move there for permanent residence. In Leningrad in 1953 he entered the Pediatric Medical Institute. Teaching was easy for him. In 1959, he graduated from the institute and was enrolled in a surgical clinical internship. For the duration of the expedition to Antarctica, he had to temporarily interrupt his studies. The practice of the young doctor Leonid Rogozov took place in Minusinsk. Subsequently, he worked in various hospitals. Leonid ended his medical career as head of the Department of Surgery at the Leningrad Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology.
Hobbies and character of Rogozov
Leonid was a talented, very sociable person. He always cared about others, was very gallant with girls. His hobbies were sports and music. Leonid worked out with weights, went skiing, played football. He was always attracted by everything new, unknown. Many girls were in love with him. But Leonid met with only one. They were not destined to be together. The girl was sent to work in another city.
Expedition to Antarctica
Volunteer doctors were recruited for an expedition to Antarctica. Leonid Rogozov, with his thirst for knowledge of everything new, immediately agreed, without hesitation and withoutdoubting. He carried a huge suitcase with him. Only instead of clothes, he put mostly books in it and did not forget his favorite weight. On this expedition, Leonid had to perform an operation on himself to remove appendicitis. Thanks to this occasion, he became known to the whole world.
Incredible operation
In 1961, a new Soviet Antarctic station was opened. They called her Novolazarevskaya. An Antarctic expedition was sent to it, in which Leonid also participated. The very first wintering on it made him famous all over the world.
On April 29, 1961, Leonid felt nausea, weakness, high fever and sharp pain in the appendix. Of the 13 people, he was the only doctor on this expedition. I had to diagnose myself: acute appendicitis. He tried conservative treatments with antibiotics, cold, hunger and rest. But the next day he got worse. The temperature jumped higher.
There were no planes at that time at any of the nearest stations. Even if the aircraft had been found, the flight to the Novolazarevskaya station was still impossible due to bad weather conditions. Only an emergency operation could save Leonid's life, but this required a surgeon. And since there was no one to perform it, there was only one way out - to perform the operation on oneself.
April 30 at night, all preparations were made. Rogozov volunteered to be assisted by a meteorologist, who gave the surgeon instruments, and a mechanical engineer, who held a mirror near the patient’s stomach and directedto the operation site light from the lamp. The head of the station was on duty nearby to insure Leonid's assistants and replace them if they feel bad from what they see.
In the supine position, Rogozov made himself an injection of novocaine. Then a scalpel incision in the right iliac region. The mirror, although it helped, distorted the view. Therefore, the inflamed appendix had to be looked for with bare hands, without gloves. It was difficult to find it by touch, and it took Leonid a lot of time - almost 40 minutes. But he cut it anyway. The wound had to be sewn up, besides, the surgeon damaged another internal organ during the cut, and it also had to be “darned.”
Since Rogozov was very weak by this time, the end of the operation was even slower. Dizziness began, general weakness appeared. But Leonid nevertheless completed the operation successfully and after 7 days he already removed the stitches. This event not only brought world fame to the young surgeon. So the song dedicated to Leonid Rogozov was born. Written by Vladimir Vysotsky.
Rogozov's personal life
The expedition returned from Antarctica to Leningrad in 1962. Leonid brought home a penguin, from which he made a stuffed animal. It was his talisman, which the surgeon placed in his new two-room apartment. Since he was not yet married, his mother moved to live with him to help with everyday life.
This is how Leonid Rogozov became famous. The operation made him famous all over the world, and a lot of letters began to come to the young surgeon. One of them piqued his interest. Marcela girl fromCzechoslovakia invited the surgeon to visit. Since Rogozov spoke several languages, he decided to accept the invitation and practice his Czech.
As soon as he saw Marcela, he immediately realized that this was his love. And a few days later he proposed to her. The wedding was played twice - in Czechoslovakia and in the Soviet Union. They stayed in Leningrad. They had two children: a daughter and a son. Leonid's wife missed her homeland very much, but he could not leave for Czechoslovakia, a lot kept him here. As a result, while Rogozov was in the hospital, his wife packed up, took the children and left for Czechoslovakia. So the first marriage ended unsuccessfully.
For the second time, Leonid married a Bulgarian. But after some time he divorced, this marriage was also not happy. Then he decided to completely immerse himself in work. He came home only to spend the night, all the time disappearing in the hospital.
Death of Leonid Rogozov
In the late 90s, Rogozov went to his brother, who lived in Tuapse. Leonid wanted to sell his apartment and buy a small house there. Before leaving, he decided to undergo a full medical examination. As a result, it turned out that he had stomach cancer. An operation was performed, but it did not help, and Rogozov died in 2000.
The burial site was found only at the Kovalevsky cemetery. There was no choice: I had to agree. The place turned out to be swampy. Relatives, friends and colleagues saw off Leonid on his last journey. But both ex-wives and children did not come. The mother was barely able to save money from her tiny pension forsmall monument.
During his difficult life, Leonid Rogozov received decals and a diploma from the Komsomol Central Committee. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
