Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Evan O'Neill Kane

Evan O'Neill Kane was a 20th century surgeon who was most famous for the multiple surgeries he performed on himself.

His first surgery was an appendectomy that he initiated while laying on an operating table and becoming impatient for the arrival of the appointed surgeon. He later stated that it was also to better understand how to use local anaesthesia in operations.

At the age of 71 he performed a hernia operation on himself. While the surgery was completed successfully, it is likely that the stress and complications of the operation were the cause of the pneumonia that killed him three months later.