Aussie doctors prepare for Antarctica by removing their appendixes

Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-06 14:01:47|Editor: ZX
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SYDNEY, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The group of doctors who arrived at the Australian Antarctic Division in the State of Tasmania on Tuesday had one thing in common -- a brand new scar where their appendix used to be.

Ahead of their posting to the icy continent the doctors underwent voluntary surgery to have their appendix removed, a measure intended to avoid complications when they reach the isolated stations where they will be posted.

"We only have a single doctor at each station over winter, so we can't afford for them to fall ill with a life threatening condition such as appendicitis," Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeff Ayton said.

The stipulation was introduced in the 1950s after an Australian doctor on Heard Island contracted appendicitis, and required a difficult emergency evacuation.

In 1961, an even more harrowing scene played out when a Russian doctor in Antarctica was forced to perform an appendectomy on himself under a local anesthetic and with the assistance of his untrained companions.

"It was a remarkable feat and one that no doubt saved his life, but it's something we want to avoid at our stations," Ayton said.

Before they head to the Australian Antarctic stations at Casey, Davis and Mawson, as well as the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, the doctors will undergo a further two months training to prepare them for the rigors of the cold continent.

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