March 18, 2013

"Self-surgery is the act of performing a surgical procedure on oneself."

"It can be a rare manifestation of a psychological disorder, an attempt to avoid embarrassment or legal action, or an act taken in extreme circumstances out of necessity."
1 Genitals
2 Abdominal
3 Medically supervised
4 Self-trepanation
5 Amputation of trapped limbs
6 In fiction
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

19 comments:

kentuckyliz said...

People who saw off their limbs to escape a bear trap or rockfall are badass gutsy. I can't even imagine.

Anonymous said...

The only one that impresses me is Aron Ralston

Anonymous said...

like thoughts Liz

kentuckyliz said...

Yikes...the woman who gave herself a Caesarean section...prepped herself with a few small glasses of alcohol. I don't think that was applied topically.

James Pawlak said...

I already have other hobbes.

edutcher said...

They do it in the movies all the time.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

A list.

Emil Blatz said...

In my younger and more vulnerable years as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, I lived in a dorm during my freshman year called Witte Hall. Named after economist Edwin A. Witte, don't you know.

A few years after I had been there a really warped fellow living in that dorm called 911, requesting help and was rescued from his own attempt at performing a self-appendectomy. He was found to have created a makeshift surgical setup in his room which included special lights and mirrors. The story was not reported at the time, but emerged years later when someone disclosed it at a conference on psychiatry, dealing with these folks who are obsessed with certain of their own body parts, who pursue endlessly surgery to remove this or that, and who sometimes become do-it-yourself-on-youselfer's.

This fellow had gone pretty far into a recognizable appendectomy and then decided he was over his head.

He recovered. The article disclosed that he had previously performed a successful (?) inguinal orchiectomy on himself. Or would that be considered two inguinal orchiectomies?

George M. Spencer said...

Aron Ralston's decision to cut off his hand was preceded by a vision in which he saw a three-year-old boy playing at his feet. Aron picked him up, and they laughed.

That was when he knew he was going to live. What's more, he knew he would live to father a son.

And that's what happened.

Later, Aron said the ordeal was "the most beautifully spiritual experience of his life."

Anonymous said...

St. George said...
Aron Ralston's decision to cut off his hand was preceded by a vision


Shades of Arwen:

Elrond: "I looked into your future and I saw death."

Arwen: "But there was also life. You saw there was a child. You saw my son."

AlanKH said...

I once blogged something relevant: "We'll know ObamaCare isn't going well when the Amazon.com listing for Gray's Anatomy [the book, not the series] lists rubbing alcohol and X-acto knives under the 'Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought' heading."

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I do this with my own hand.

Sam L. said...

I recall a doc telling me his twin brother (also a doc) did his own vasectomy--wanted to be sure of his technique.

Michael K said...

I admitted a woman, when I was a resident, who had carefully cut her skin into squares about three inches on a side all over her body. It was a nasty job sewing up all the lacerations. They were deep.

Crazy, of course.

mishu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mishu said...

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:29-30

I'll take my chances with a whole body.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

In Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series, Dr. Maturin removes a pistol ball from his chest that he received in a duel. He was the only one present who knew how.

Geoff Matthews said...

Does removing splinters count?

Petunia said...

The male student who performed abdominal surgery in his dorm room...that was at the UW right here in Madison.