Self-surgery

Self-surgery is the act of performing a surgical procedure on oneself. It can be an act taken in extreme circumstances out of necessity, an attempt to avoid embarrassment, legal action, or financial costs, or a rare manifestation of a psychological disorder.

Genitals

These surgeries are generally the least life-threatening. Sometimes people resort to self-surgery in the form of castration in an attempt to control their sexual urges, or due to gender dysphoria.[1][2][3]

Boston Corbett, the soldier who killed Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, had performed self-surgery earlier in life. He castrated himself with a pair of scissors in order to avoid the temptation of prostitutes. Afterwards he went to a prayer meeting and ate a meal before going for medical treatment.[4]

Abdominal

Abdominal self-surgery is extremely rare. A few well-publicized cases have found their way into the medical literature.

At four o'clock on the morning of his surgery, he disinfected his dormitory room with spray disinfectant and alcohol and draped an area with sheets that he had previously sterilized. For anesthesia, he took oral barbiturates. He also took hydrocortisone and prepared a canister of vaporized adrenalin, readying himself for a possible shock syndrome. He performed the procedure wearing sterile gloves and a surgical mask.

Lying supine and looking into strategically placed mirrors to obtain an optimum view, he began by cleansing his abdomen with alcohol. The incision was made with a scalpel, exposure obtained by retractors, and the dissection carried out with surgical instruments. Lidocaine hydrochloride was injected into each successive tissue layer during the opening. He controlled bleeding with locally applied gelatin powder, while sterilized cotton thread ligatures were used for the larger vessels. After eight hours he had had minimal blood loss but was unable to obtain adequate exposure to enter the retroperitoneal space because of the unexpected pain in retracting his liver. Exhausted, he bandaged his wound, cleaned up his room, and called the police for transport to the hospital because of a "rupture".[11]

Medically supervised

Dr. Jerri Nielsen was the sole physician on duty at the U.S. National Science Foundation Amundsen–Scott Antarctic research station in 1999 when she found a lump on her breast. She was forced to biopsy the lump herself. Her experience made international news and was the basis for her autobiography, Ice Bound. The lump was found to be cancerous, so she self-administered chemotherapeutic agents. She remained cancer-free for several years but died in 2009 after her cancer reappeared and spread to her brain.

Self-trepanation

Trepanation involves drilling a hole in the skull. The most famous instances of self-trepanation is that of Amanda Feilding, Joey Mellen (Feilding's domestic partner), and Bart Huges (who influenced Mellen and Feilding).

Amputation of trapped limbs

In fiction

References

  1. Lowy, FH.; Kolivakis, TL. (Oct 1971). "Autocastration by a male transsexual.". Can Psychiatr Assoc J 16 (5): 399–405. PMID 5151637.
  2. Money, J.; De Priest, M. (Nov 1976). "Three cases of genital self-surgery and their relationship to transexualism.". J Sex Res 12 (4): 283–94. doi:10.1080/00224497609550947. PMID 1018488.
  3. Money, J. (Aug 1980). "Genital self-surgery.". J Urol 124 (2): 210. PMID 7401235.
  4. Swanson, James L. (2007). Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. pg. 329 HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-051850-9.
  5. "Dr. Evan Kane dies of pneumonia at 71". New York Times. April 2, 1932. p. 23.
  6. JAMA1916, .
  7. Arsen P. Fiks, Paul A. Buelow, Self-experimenters: sources for study, page 125, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003 ISBN 0-313-32348-8.
  8. Jeff Rubin, Antarctica, page 260, Lonely Planet, 2005 ISBN 1-74059-094-5.
  9. Rogozov, V.; Bermel, N.; Rogozov, LI. (2009). "Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic: case report.". BMJ 339: b4965. doi:10.1136/bmj.b4965. PMID 20008968.
  10. L.I. Rogozov (1964), "Self-operation" (PDF), Soviet Antarctic Expedition Information Bulletin: 223–224
  11. 11.0 11.1 Kalin, NH. (May 1979). "Genital and abdominal self-surgery. A case report.". JAMA 241 (20): 2188–9. doi:10.1001/jama.241.20.2188. PMID 430820.
  12. Callan, JP. (May 1979). "Surgical decisions.". JAMA 241 (20): 2193. doi:10.1001/jama.1979.03290460057024. PMID 430822.
  13. Molina-Sosa, A.; Galvan-Espinosa, H.; Gabriel-Guzman, J.; Valle, RF. (Mar 2004). "Self-inflicted cesarean section with maternal and fetal survival.". Int J Gynaecol Obstet 84 (3): 287–90. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2003.08.018. PMID 15001385.

Further reading

External links