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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    This posterior deflection and extension I have successfully ob- tained by the use of one splint, made of thin material, (a piece of cigar box,) and applied to its posterior aspect, no wider than the arm, extending from the point of the elbow to the metacarpo- phalangeal articulation, and having two compresses, one of which fills the posterior concavity of the carpus, and the other to sup- ply the deficiency of the straight line at the elbow. Now apply the splint (fig. 1) to the posterior surface of the arm, fasten the upper end of it to the elbow by means of adhesive plaster, en- closing the end of the splint, and applied in a serpentine course about the arm, so that it cannot slide upward. Now, make the proper extension on the hand, and at the same time counter-ex- tend, by pushing up the carpel end of the splint, continuing this effort at extension and counter-extension until full reduction of the fractured radius and dislocated ulna is effected ; then the splint is fastened to the hand by the same serpentine application of the plasters. At this period of the dressing it will be seen that the compress (fig. 3) seems to crowd the splint away from the arm, when, in fact, the limb is only straight, which is not its natural condition. All that is now necessary to complete the dressing, is to press the carpel end of the fore-arm gently back- ward against the splint, and retain it there by the adhesive plas- ter passed around the arm and splint, (fig. 2-2.) By this simple plan I have now treat- ed eight cases of Colles' fracture, and in all of those where this treatment! was carried out it resulted in the full restoration of the limb without the splint ever being removed, and with only an occasional addition of a few pieces of adhesive plaster to perpetuate the extension and retain it in position. These results are so good that in Case No. 3, seen by Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, consulting surgeon to Bellevue Hospi- tal, New York, the affected arm was pronounced as perfect as its fellow. The dressings were removed from this Straps;P s. 'compressfT arm on the 22d day of its treatment, and he Extension; 5. Counter-ex- ., ,, n^.i i •>, ,-, tension. saw it on the 26th day after the occurrence