[For the details from which the notes of this case have been abstracted I am indebted to my friend Dr. Herbert Stowers.] THE IMMEDIATE TREATMENT OF FRACTURES OF THE LEG BY PLASTER-OF-PARIS SPLINTS. BY JOHN CROFT, F.R.C.S., SURGEON TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL. Received June 6th-Read June 14th, 1881. I BEG to state that my main object in bringing this subject before this Society is to endeavour to popularise the practice of applying plaster-of-Paris splints immediately for fractures of the leg. Plaster of Paris has been employed to form an immovable apparatus or case for the treatment of fractures since its introduction in 1828 by Klüge. Mathieson, in 1854, first described the plaster-ofParis bandage. A plaster-of-Paris splint or envelope made of flannel was used extensively by the Bavarian surgeons during the Franco-Prussian war. Mr. Bryant at Guy's Hospital has employed an apparatus made of flannel, stiffened with gum and chalk, for fractures of the leg after swelling has subsided. I mention these wellknown facts as they contributed to my "make up" of these splints. The history of the introduction and adoption of plaster |