An essay on the treatment of compound and complicated fractures : being the annual address before the Massachusetts Medical Society, May 28, 1845 / by William J. Walker.

  • Walker, William Johnson, 1789-1865.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the treatment of compound and complicated fractures : being the annual address before the Massachusetts Medical Society, May 28, 1845 / by William J. Walker. 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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    cut square at the end opposite the wheel, to which a handle was to be fitted to turn it. I then endeavored to make counter extension by means of bands, some of which were passed under the axilla, others in the groin of the fractured side, and others to the knee, all well padded and fastened to the head of the bed. I then placed a very thick compress around the leg, just above the malleoli, and over it a band of strong thread ribbon, \_quality binding,'] the two ends of which were nailed to the axis of the wheel just described. It is evident that when the axis is turned by means of its handle, this extending band must be rolled round it, to any desirable extent. When this is accomplished, the wheel is stopped by means of a pin passed through one of the holes in its circumference, while the axis is sustained by pegs, placed at discretion, in the holes made in the plank. At our first trial of this apparatus, the limb was lengthened two inches, without any inconvenience to the patient, but on the con- trary, his pain was diminished. For a number of days, care loas taken to turn the wheel several times, so as to gain a few holes only: in * this way, the limb regained its natural length. To relieve the patient from the pain of the counter-extending bands, I placed another plank at the foot of his bed, with a kind of rest, against which he could press with his sound foot. This added much to his comfort. ****** The wound, caused by the protrusion of the tibia, was entirely healed the 20th of January, (1753.) Some portions of bone ex- foliated after this from the fibula. We had, however, the satis- faction to see it covered by healthy granulations on the 2d of February, and the posterior wound wholly cicatrized the 1st of March. I then observed that a substance of moderate solidity might be felt between the two ends of the tibia, in the hollow left by the portion removed, particularly on the internal side where the periosteum was least removed. * See Fragment translated from La Motte, annexed, lettered K.