Plastic apparatus in surgery : with especial reference to that variety made with plaster of Paris / by Samuel B. St. John.
- St. John, Samuel B., 1813-1876.
- Date:
- 1872
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Plastic apparatus in surgery : with especial reference to that variety made with plaster of Paris / by Samuel B. St. John. 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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![In analyzing the cases we find that the average shortening in all 50 cases is j of an inch. The average shortening before treatment, so far as given, is lj inch. The use of an anesthetic does not seem to have essentially- altered the result, for 38 cases where ether was used give an average short- ening of ^ inch. 35 of these, where patients went about freely on crutches, give average shortening £ inch. The average time of union in all 50 cases to time of leaving off splint is 44 days. 18 cases give no shortening, the average shortening of these 18 on admission was inch. 16 cases under 18 years of age give £ inch shortening. 27 cases over 18 years give between ^ and ^ inch, and 21 of these average less than \ inch. In 23 cases the splint was applied within 24 hours ; of these 6 were from direct violence, and 2 were compound. In 14 cases the splint was ap- plied between 24 and 48 hours after the injury; of these 2 were from direct violence. In 8 cases the splint was applied between 2 and 7 days after, and in 3 cases after 7 days had elapsed. 21 cases had femur broken in middle 15 “ “ “ junction of middle and lower third 7 cases had femur broken in junction of middle and upper third 5 cases had femur broken at cervix 1 case had femur broken below trochanter Average siiortemng. On Admission. I inch. ?V l H H ii How do these statistics compare with those of other modern hospitals ? Holthouse, in the last edition of Holmes’ Surgery, says that at present, in London hospitals, shortening occurs after fracture of the femur in adults m 90 per cent, of the cases, and 50 per cent, in children. In these cases it is 25 per cent, in adults, and 50 per cent, in children. He o-ives 50 cases with an average shortening of J of an inch. He recommends the P astlc apparatus for infants, and for adults after the first six weeks. A paper by Dr. Gurdon Buck, of this city, in 1861, gives 20 cases, 17 of I'T ,° 0rteing Up t0 inch : i inch ; only 1 “ ! 5 TK’ “d 3 ehildre' la a of cases collected o? nV T, femViS °f the New York HosPital in 1850, out of U cases 19 had no shortening; 55 had j inch. Of the 19 13 were vet- ,2 years old. Average shortening of the 1, under ,2 rears of7ge ISM bytfr J r Tm in NSW ¥ork Journal °f T ' 7, 1 Campbell, the average time of union was 45 days. tr. t ve'l- poul * 1 len’ are f5e statistics of cases of fracture of the femur m id,1 7 r1,0Cl SnpWiM >° «>« of any other method. 1,1“ alio , ° ‘:'y l lt Ule patrcnt rs 100 many risks of falling etc if lie is cC^riuirrr ^ ir ^ •»» the pure air outside The f]iff ^ ^ ^ ^ might be breathi»g fractures his ft . T* T™ t0. be that if be and ret dies from pneumonia m° t0 tbe Stupidit^ of ,lis surgeon; if he H is a « visitation of^ ow his](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22457732_0035.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
