Treatment of fractures of long bones by simple extension / by John Swinburne.

  • Swinburne, John, 1820-1889.
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Treatment of fractures of long bones by simple extension / by John Swinburne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    tending cords. But, what is of more importance than the time of the surgeon or attendant, the results, in every case which I have seen, were perfect, and the time necessary for recovering much more brief than one would believe possible. Add to all these considerations the fact that the greatest possible comfort is secured to the patient, and I do not believe that any one who has faithfully made trial of this method, will ever have recourse to a long splint and bandages, unless his patient is so unfortunate as not to possess that most comfortable of all long splints, a bed. 0. H. YOUNG, M. D., House Surgeon. Dear Doctor : The case of intra capsular fracture, an account of which I promised to furnish you, occurred in an old lady of 65 years, of feeble health and greatly impaired constitution. The dressing was most simple, consisting of a large, soft, perineal belt, attached to the head of the bed, and counter-extension made from the foot. She suffered but little pain, and scarcely no inconve- nience from the dressing, although her skin was remarkably ten- der and easily chafed. The old lady, after a few days, rather luxuriated, while the bone was uniting. She was not able to leave her bed for eight Aveeks—when at first she was able to get about, there appeared little shortening. I think (without having measur- ed it) that it is greater now, at the expiration of one year, than it was when she first began to walk. The great comfort of this simple appliance to an old and infirm patient,—the avoidance of excoriations and sloughs, and the successful result, would lead me to forego the use of splints in all similar cases. In haste, truly yours, Albany, Feb. 1, 1861. SYLVESTER D. WILLARD. Treatment of Fractures of Leg by extension and counter-extension. In fractures of the inferior extremities, the patient, of neces- sity, is obliged to keep his bed, and hence there is less demand for comely appliances than in cases of fracture of the arm or forearm. In fracture of the femur, I use simply extension and counter-extension without splints, and in the leg I sometimes do the same. Two cases are reported in this paper, one in the hospital and one in private practice, where the fractures were double, i. e. both thigh and leg. By referring to these cases, it will be seen that I dispensed with splints entirely, by making extension and counter-extension by means of the perineal belt, while the exten-