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[WARNING: This list contains some graphic content.] Self-surgery refers to the practice of performing a medical procedure on oneself. In certain extreme circumstances, individuals may be compelled to take this drastic step. This compilation highlights 10 individuals who, due to extraordinary situations, resorted to self-surgery. Please note that self-castration and self-mutilation, which are common forms of self-surgery, are not included in this list. A word of caution: some descriptions and images in this list may be unsettling to sensitive viewers.
10. Dr. Jerri Nielsen Born 1952
Surgical Procedure: Biopsy
Dr. Jerri Lin Nielsen is a seasoned American physician with a vast background in emergency room medicine. In 1998, she was appointed to spend a year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where she served as the sole doctor during the winter. In early March of 1999, Nielsen discovered a lump in her right breast. After consulting with U.S. doctors via email and video conference, she performed a biopsy on herself. The results were inconclusive due to the outdated equipment on-site, which hindered a precise diagnosis. A military plane was dispatched to deliver supplies and medication for her treatment. Using the new materials, she performed another biopsy that provided clearer scans to be sent to the U.S., where the diagnosis of cancerous cells was confirmed. With the assistance of her impromptu medical team, Nielsen began self-administering chemotherapy. In October, a military transport plane arrived weeks ahead of schedule to bring her back to the U.S. After undergoing multiple surgeries, complications, and a mastectomy, Nielsen went into remission.
Interesting Fact: Nielsen went on to become a motivational speaker and authored a book detailing her experience. The book, titled Ice Bound, was later adapted into a made-for-TV movie starring Susan Sarandon.
9. Amanda Feilding Born 1943
Surgical Procedure: Trepanation
Amanda Feilding is a British artist and the scientific director of the Beckley Foundation. Struggling with a condition that left her feeling constantly fatigued, she spent years searching for a qualified surgeon who could perform trepanning, a procedure in which a small section of the skull is drilled to improve blood flow to the brain. When her search proved unsuccessful, she decided to take matters into her own hands at the age of 27. Armed with a dentist’s electric drill powered by a foot pedal, Feilding taped dark glasses to her face to prevent blood from running into her eyes. After making an incision with a scalpel, she began drilling, periodically dipping the drill bit in water to cool it down. Despite losing nearly a liter of blood, Feilding was pleased with her operation. Within four hours, she experienced an overwhelming sense of elation and relaxation. Feilding recalls, 'I went out and had steak for supper, and then I went to a party.'
Interesting Fact: Feilding directed a short cult art film titled 'Heartbeat in the Brain,' which is shown exclusively to invited guests. Additionally, she ran for British Parliament twice, campaigning on the platform 'Trepanation for the National Health,' aiming to raise awareness of the potential benefits of the procedure and call for scientific investigation into its effects.
8. Deborah Sampson 1760 – 1827
Surgical Procedure: Removal of Musket Ball
Deborah Sampson was notably mentioned in the 'Top 10 Men Who Were Actually Women' list as a significant omission. In 1782, she joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army, adopting the name Robert Shutleff. With her tall and strong build, she easily passed as a man, and it was assumed that she didn’t need to shave due to her youth. While her unit was stationed at West Point, New York, she was injured in a nearby battle. Taken to a hospital for treatment, she sneaked out to avoid being discovered as a woman. Sampson performed self-surgery, removing a musket ball from her thigh using a penknife and sewing needle. Once healed, she returned to her regiment. The next time Sampson was wounded, her doctor realized she was a woman and, in 1783, arranged for her discharge from the Continental Army.
Interesting Fact: As a result of her injuries, Sampson received a military pension from the United States. Later, in 1838, Congress passed a special law that granted a pension to her heirs.
7. Dr. Evan O'Neill Kane 1862 – 1933
Surgical Procedure: Appendectomy and Inguinal Hernia Repair
Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane was a trailblazer in the medical field and served as the chief surgeon at New York City’s Kane Summit Hospital. Driven by the belief that general anesthesia was often unnecessary for minor surgeries, he set out to prove his theory. For his experiment, he operated on himself, performing an appendectomy using only local anesthesia. Kane positioned himself on the operating table with a mirror placed over his abdomen, while three other doctors were present as support. After making the required large incision to remove the appendix (before the advent of techniques that allowed smaller incisions), his assistants sutured him up. Then, in 1932, at the age of 70, Kane went on to perform an even more complex surgery on himself: a repair of an inguinal hernia. Given the surgery's proximity to the femoral artery, it was a delicate procedure that Kane successfully completed in under two hours.
Interesting Fact: The image above is from his hernia surgery. Remarkably, Kane remained calm and even joked throughout the procedure, even as he came within mere millimeters of vital blood vessels.
6. Joannes Lethaeus Born circa 1620
Surgical Procedure: Lithotomy (The removal of stones formed inside hollow organs such as the bladder and kidneys)
What makes this self-surgery fascinating is that it took place over 360 years ago. Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam, documented the procedure in his book 'Observationes medicae.' The case in question involved Joannes Lethaeus, a blacksmith who performed lithotomy surgery on himself. The illustration above, taken from Dr. Tulp's book, shows the stone Lethaeus removed from his own kidney, along with the knife he used for the procedure.
Lethaeus had decided that no one but himself would perform the surgery. He sent his wife to the fish market, which she was happy to do, while his brother assisted by pulling aside his scrotum. Lethaeus, with the stone in his left hand, cut into the perineum with a knife he had secretly prepared. Despite the difficulty, he repeatedly made the incision long enough to allow the stone to pass. The removal of the stone proved more challenging. Lethaeus had to use both hands, inserting two fingers into the wound to extract the stone using leverage. Eventually, the stone, weighing four ounces and the size of a hen's egg, came out with a loud pop and a tear of the bladder. The courageous and somewhat reckless surgery was finished, and the stone, which had caused him so much pain, was safely removed. Lethaeus then called for a healer to stitch up the wound, which healed remarkably well despite the size of the incision and the damage to the bladder. However, due to the trauma, ulcers eventually formed. Despite lacking proper surgical tools, Lethaeus' courage and determination allowed him to successfully complete the procedure, an act of bravery fueled by unshakable faith.
Interesting Fact: A famous oil painting by Rembrandt titled 'The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' depicts Dr. Tulp (the author of the above account) teaching a group of medical professionals about the musculature of the arm. The painting is housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.
5. Sampson Parker Born circa 1960
Surgical Procedure: Amputation of Right Arm
In September of 2007, Sampson Parker, a farmer from South Carolina, was harvesting corn when some stalks became caught in a set of rollers on the machine. As he reached into the still-running equipment to remove the stalks, the rollers grabbed hold of his glove and then his hand. Parker screamed for help, but the isolated field in Kershaw County had no one nearby. For over an hour, he struggled to free his hand, but it kept getting pulled deeper into the machine. Finally, he managed to grab an iron bar and wedged it into the chain-and-sprocket that powered the rollers. With his fingers growing numb, he pulled out a small pocketknife and began cutting off his fingers to free himself. As he was working, sparks flew from the sprocket grinding against the rod, setting the dry ground ablaze. Realizing he had no choice, Parker knew he had to sever his arm or die. The fire kept him conscious long enough to cut through his arm. Once he reached the bone, he used his own weight to snap it and free himself from the machine. Afterward, he climbed into his pickup truck and drove into the road, forcing a passing car to stop. A motorist eventually stopped, and a rescue helicopter was called to take him to the hospital. Parker spent three weeks in a burn center before returning home.
Interesting Fact: While Parker was recovering, around 25 of his neighbors came together to finish harvesting his corn.
4. Dr. Leonid Rogozov Born 1937
Surgical Procedure: Appendectomy
At 27 years old, Soviet doctor Leonid Rogozov was stationed at the Novolazarevskaya base in Antarctica. Recognizing the symptoms of acute appendicitis in himself, Rogozov faced the realization that he had no access to medical support due to the absence of a transport aircraft and the harsh weather conditions. With the threat of a ruptured appendix growing, he made the decision to perform the surgery on himself. With the help of the team’s meteorologist holding the retractors, a driver assisting with the mirror, and other scientists passing surgical instruments, he reclined and proceeded to remove his own appendix using only a local anesthetic. During the procedure, he lost consciousness momentarily but managed to regain focus and completed the surgery in just under two hours.
Interesting Fact: Dr. Rogozov wrote a detailed report documenting the extraordinary event, which included the photo shown above. He made a full recovery and resumed his duties after just two weeks.
3. Ines Ramírez Born 1960
Surgical Procedure: Caesarean Section
Ramírez Pérez lives in the rural town of Rio Talea, Mexico, with a population of just 500 people and a single phone. In March 2000, the 40-year-old mother of seven went into labor while alone in her cabin. After enduring 12 hours of painful labor with little progress and fearing another fetal death like her previous pregnancy, Ramírez made a drastic decision. She drank from either a bottle of rubbing alcohol or three small glasses of hard liquor (accounts vary), then grabbed a 15-cm knife and began the procedure. She cut through skin, fat, and muscle, and after about an hour of self-surgery, she reached her uterus and extracted her baby boy, who immediately began breathing and crying. Ramírez then cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors and passed out from exhaustion. Upon regaining consciousness, she wrapped her bleeding abdomen in clothes and sent her 6-year-old son to find help. Several hours later, the village health assistant discovered her awake and lying next to her healthy baby. Ramírez was transported to a hospital eight hours away, where she underwent surgery to repair damage to her intestines caused during the C-section. She fully recovered after being released from the hospital.
Interesting Fact: Ramírez is believed to be the only woman who has successfully performed a caesarean section on herself. Her remarkable case was documented in the March 2004 issue of the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
2. Aron Ralston Born 1975
Surgical Procedure: Amputation of Right Arm
Aron Ralston’s story gained international attention, making him a household name. Ralston, an American mountain climber and former mechanical engineer, had left his engineering career to climb Colorado’s ‘fourteeners’—peaks over 14,000 feet. In 2002, while on a solo canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon, a boulder fell and trapped his right forearm. After five days of unsuccessfully attempting to move the boulder, a dehydrated and delirious Ralston prepared to amputate his arm, which had already gone dead. Using a dull knife, he cut through the soft tissue around the break before using pliers to tear through the tougher tendons. Once free, Ralston still had to make his way out of the canyon, which was 8 miles from his truck. He rappelled down a 65-foot cliff and hiked out, eventually meeting other hikers who gave him food and water. Ralston was later transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, for surgery.
Interesting Fact: After Ralston’s arm was amputated, park authorities retrieved it from under the boulder and removed it. The arm was then cremated and returned to Ralston, who later revisited the site and scattered the ashes near the boulder. Ralston continues to enjoy mountain climbing, now with the assistance of a prosthetic arm.
1. Douglas Goodale Born 1965
Surgical Procedure: Amputation of Right Arm
In 1998, Douglas Goodale, a 35-year-old lobster fisherman from Maine, found himself in a life-threatening situation while hauling lobster traps from the sea floor. As he was pulling up his first catch, a massive wave struck the boat, creating slack in the rope, which then wound tightly around the drum. Reaching to turn off the motor and untangle the rope, his sleeve became caught in the winch. In an instant, the winch took hold of his hand and arm. Alone and trapped, with his body hanging over the side of the boat, Goodale’s survival instincts kicked in. Using his uninjured arm, he managed to pull himself back onto the boat, but the twisting motion forced him to dislocate the shoulder joint of his trapped arm. Realizing that his only chance for survival was to amputate his own arm, he grabbed his twine knife and began the grueling process of cutting through his own arm. The cold water and the twisting action had helped to limit blood loss. After freeing himself, Goodale navigated his boat back to harbor and sought medical assistance.
Interesting Fact: Despite having only one arm, Goodale has continued to work two seasons of lobstering and even rebuilt his 35’ wooden boat from the ground up, stripping it down to the bare planks. He was also featured on the television show 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,' where 1,000 volunteers helped him replace his double-wide mobile home with a $500,000 log cabin.
