The Australian Antarctic Program requires doctors who spend the winter at its stations to have their appendix removed, but other expedition members are exempt.

The rule was first introduced in the 1950s after an Australian doctor stationed on Heard Island developed appendicitis and faced a complex emergency evacuation, highlighting the danger of a sudden abdominal emergency in remote Antarctica.

A more dramatic example occurred in 1961 when 27‑year‑old Soviet surgeon Leonid Rogozov, the sole doctor among a 12‑person team at Novolazarevskaya station, suffered appendicitis. Blizzards made evacuation impossible and the ship would not return for a year.

Rogozov performed a self‑appendectomy under local anesthesia. His teammates handed him the surgical tools and held a mirror, but the reversed image was confusing, so he relied mainly on touch. The operation lasted almost two hours.

Rogozov’s wound healed, and he was back on duty two weeks later, proving that even a successful self‑surgery could not replace the need for preventive measures. Because winter stations often have only one doctor and evacuation may be impossible, the appendix‑removal rule remains a vital safety precaution.