Treatment of compound fractures of the thigh from gunshot wounds, as observed in some of the American military hospitals / by Redfern Davies.

Davies, John Redfern, 1835?-1867.

Date:: 1863

Credit: Treatment of compound fractures of the thigh from gunshot wounds, as observed in some of the American military hospitals / by Redfern Davies. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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$points of attachment to the splint so that the centre of gravity of the limb may be well adjusted. The amount of extension is regulated by the obliquity of the cord; and counter-extension Composed of one piece of wire the size of n No. 10 catheter, bent at right angles at each extremity, and of sufficient length to reach from a little above the anterior spinous process of the ilium to an inch beyond the toes. s created (as in Dr. Buck’s method) by raising the foot of the bed. (Fig. 3.) In these methods of treatment the forces of extension and counter-extension are applied only to such a degree as is deter- mined by the tolerance of each patient, increasing or diminish- ing them according to his feelings, and not being troubled with any diminution in the length of the limb, but only when there may be an undue increase iu the thickness of the bone, and leaving the muscles (unirritated by the presence of bony spiculae).to their own natural contractility. This seems to me to be in exact accordance with the precepts of Appia and Macleod. Shortening must, deformity and twisting of the bone may occur, chiefly depending upon the amount of struc- ture that has perished and upon the skill and vigilance of the surgeon. In the dressing of the wounds attending these fractures there$