The first real surgery post has to be the heroic auto appendectomy by Leonid Rogozov, an absolute hero. Although he rejected all glorification of his deed. When thoughts like these were put to him, he usually answered with a smile and the words: "A job like any other, a life like any other." - I beg to differ.
If you are unfamiliar with the story I highly recommend you to read the article on BMJ: https://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b4965.full
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