Cases of difficult fractures occurring in private practice / by Fredk. H. Alderson.

  • Alderson, Frederick Henry.
Date:
[1895]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cases of difficult fractures occurring in private practice / by Fredk. H. Alderson. 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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    I should mention that in the week that elapsed between the consultation with Mr. Keetley and the discovery of the anchylosis, there had been improvement, slight but marked: the elbow was rather less swollen, but he was unable to feed himself, as he could not get his hand to his mouth. I suggested that the boy, who was fond of cherries, should eat i lb. every day, conditionally that he ate them by the use of his left hand, and this was carried out and followed by perceptible improvement, for to reach his mouth at first appeared almost an impossibility, but was soon accomplished quite easily and quickly. On July 5th I took the patient to Mr. Herbert, the dentist, who administered the gas while I forcibly extended the arm, extending the limb suddenly after extreme flexion, as advised by Mr. Christopher Heath in his “ Index of Surgery.” I felt the arm give, and the adhesions cracked, and this effort was attended by great and visible improve- ment in the appearance of the arm, as well as considerably so in its use. On the 7th he was again placed under gas, and the extension repeated. I used more force, particularly in flexion, and some further improvement followed, but it was not so evident as before, and not sufficient to encourage it to be repeated. July nth : Ung. iodi co. was rubbed into joint daily by the excellent school-matron who had nursed him throughout with assiduity and care, and I myself used massage two or three times a week. July 21 st: The youth returned home to Cornwall for all practical purposes quite recovered, and with a very useful joint. Sept. 21 st: On examining elbow after the holidays on his returning to school, he said he was quite well : there is free extension, slightly limited flexion, for he can’t quite bend his arm ; the elbow measures eight inches on each arm, but the internal condyle is about of an inch larger than in the uninjured arm. To-day, June 7th, he tells me it is stronger than the other. The points of interest and of practical importance of this case are : (1) The nature of the accident; (2) the anchylosis ; (3) the treatment and the result. I must confess that I am inclined to think the case is perhaps an example of a simple oblique fracture of the lower