A new system of surgical mechanics / by Charles F. Stillman.

  • Stillman, Charles F. (Charles Frederick)
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new system of surgical mechanics / by Charles F. Stillman. 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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    a joint begins to inflame, effusion occurs and flexion invariably follows. The application of this splint at such a time is disas- trous, because the extension is not exerted in the axes of a limb, and the suffering is increased rather than diminished, for a local splint made to extend a joint when the limb is straight cannot do so properly when it is at an angle, unless it is pro- vided with a joint opposite the affected joint, thus enabling the extension power always to be exerted in the axes of the limb at right angles to the attachments. Recognizing this fact, I de- vised a bracket in which the bridge was composed of two slotted flat strips, lying one over the other, and connected by two thumb clamps (Fig. 3). This gave me extension and fixation Fig. 3. Stillman’s slotted joint bracket. in a straight position, and also enabled me to allow motion by removing one of the clamps. But this motion was not the automatic motion of a joint, because the one clamp did not possess sufficient fixation to keep itself opposite the joint, and therefore the patient could not use the splint while walking, unless with the limb in a straight position. It, however, did very well for passive motion, which we could exercise, and then lock the joint up in its original position. I subsequently added the sector of a circle, also slot- ted, both at the centre and circumference, and the mechanical extension joint was complete. You see it before you (Fig. 4). The two slotted strips are now attached to the sector by three clamps, which allow them to play upon a fixed centre taken in space, and when properly applied is capable of the following combinations without removal from the limb: —