Why did a doctor once remove his own appendix in Antarctica?

Because nobody else could. In April 1961, Leonid Rogozov, a doctor who, at 26, had interrupted his surgical training to join a Soviet expedition, was the only doctor among thirteen researchers at a remote station in Antarctica when he developed appendicitis, an inflammation of the appendix. The nearest station was over 1,600 kilometres away, no aircraft could fly in through the blizzards, and no one else was qualified to operate. So Rogozov operated on himself, lying half-reclined with local anaesthetic, while a driver and a meteorologist handed him instruments and held a mirror for the parts he couldn't see directly.

Appendicitis usually starts when the appendix becomes blocked, often by a small, hardened lump of feces. Pressure builds inside, blood flow drops, bacteria multiply, and the result is the inflammation that gives the condition its name. The pain classically begins as a dull ache around the navel before migrating, over several hours, to a precise spot in the lower right abdomen. Left untreated, the trapped pressure can kill off tissue and the appendix can rupture, spilling bacteria into the abdomen and risking sepsis. That is why the standard treatment has long been surgical removal, whether through a traditional open incision or smaller laparoscopic cuts.

The condition did not even have its modern name until 1886, when physician Reginald Heber Fitz coined "appendicitis" and helped standardize how it was diagnosed and treated. Public trust in surgery for it jumped in 1902, when Sir Frederick Treves operated on King Edward VII just two days before his coronation. Rogozov's case went further still: cutting into his own cecum by accident, he still spotted a dark, about-to-burst appendix, removed it in about two hours, and was back on duty in about two weeks. Afterwards, the Soviet government reformed its safety policies, making extensive health checks mandatory for everyone sent on such expeditions.