On surgical swings and pulleys as aids to rest and motion / by Sampson Gamgee.

  • Gamgee, Sampson, 1828-1886.
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On surgical swings and pulleys as aids to rest and motion / by Sampson Gamgee. 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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    it is in the management of fractures that it admits of the clearest, the most conclusive, and the most frequent illustra- tion, Discussing, in 1856, the relative merits of the different methods of treating fractures, I published some observations from which I beg leave to make a brief quotation.1 “ Theoretically considering the principle of action of an immovable apparatus, closely fitting as it does to the eleva- tions and depressions of the limb after the fragments have been brought into accurate apposition, it may be said to act the part of an outer skeleton, whilst the solution of continuity in the bone is being repaired, giviug to the soft parts that support which the internal skeleton once afforded. The surgeon applying an apparatus of this kind closely follows nature’s example. The soft parts of the animal frame are supported upon two principles—by an outward shell, as in the crab ; by an interior skeleton, as in man When a part of the interior bony framework is broken, what more rational than, during its repair, to support the soft parts by nature’s other scheme—an investing shell ? This is precisely what the surgeon does in treating a broken leg or thigh with an im- movable apparatus. Once applied, it effectually prevents displacement of the fragments aud its consequent attendants —injury to the soft parts, pain, and deformity.” SAYRE’S TREATMENT OE SPINAL CURVATURE. The literal application of the simile sketched in the preceding passages impressed me forcibly, when I first had the advantage of witnessing Professor Sayre apply his plaster-jacket for spinal curvature. When the spinal stem yields, he supports the bending trunk with an investing shell. In his endeavour to secure immobility of the spine, he acts on accepted prin- ciples ; but, to do him justice, the distinguished American has reconciled ingenious originality with traditional conservatism. 1 Researches in Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Surgery. P»y Sampson Oamgcc. p. loo ct scq. London, 185G.