The treatment of fractures with notes upon a few common dislocations /by / Charles Locke Scudder.

  • Scudder, Charles L. (Charles Locke), 1860-1949.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The treatment of fractures with notes upon a few common dislocations /by / Charles Locke Scudder. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    coriating the skin of the groin. The toes and fingers should be left uncovered to admit of inspection. A certain degree of skill is demanded upon the part of the sur- geon for the proper application of the plaster-of-Paris splint. Plaster-of-Paris, when used for fractured bones, is applied either before or after the swelling has taken place: if applied before, it constricts the seat of fracture, prevents swelling, and may cause great pain; if applied after the swelling has taken place, it becomes loose as soon as the swelling of the soft parts subsides, and motion of the limb in the splint and of the fragments of the fractured bone one upon the other is possible. It is important, therefore, to split the plaster soon after it has been applied, and thus obviate these dangers of too light and too loose a splint. The tightness of the splint should be regulated by straps and a bandage of cheese-cloth. The Removal of the Plaster Splint.~The removal of the plaster splint is difficult. No instrument has been devised that is more efficient than an ordinary sharp jack-knife. If the plaster splint is split immediately after its application,—i. e., as soon as it is hard,—it will be far easier than if it is cut after it is thoroughly dry. A strip of tin an inch wide laid upon the protected leg and covered by the plaster in its application will often be of great ser- vice upon removing the plaster. The tin will serve as a protection to the skin, and the cutting may be done more quickly and easily. After removing most of the plaster from his hands the surgeon should wash his hands with a little water and granulated sugar or molasses. The sugar assists in removing all traces of plaster and leaves the skin soft and clean. Bandages of plaster-of-Paris are so readily obtained, so efficient, so safe from interference upon the part of the patient, and so easy to apply, that it is surprising they are not applied more often than they are. The dextrin bandage is much slower in becoming firm than the plaster bandage, and yet is very light and serviceable. It is ap- plied exactly as is the plaster-of-Paris bandage. The roller ban- dage of cotton cloth is first unrolled and rerolled in a basin contain- ing a watery solution of powdered dextrin. Formula for making the solution of dextrin: Add about fourteen ounces of powdered dextrin to a pint of water, boil until dissolved, strain, and add one ounce of alcohol. The bandage is, therefore, thoroughly