Caption: Fig 1: # Shaft Femur in
Thomas Splint (Rt.) and Missed Posterior Dislocation Hip (Lt.)
Believing in his uncle's invention, Robert Jones and Colonel HMW Gray, a colleague and a fellow surgeon, set out on an ambitious campaign to educate all medical staff in the use and application of the
Thomas splint.
It is, of course, too simple to say that this huge drop in the death rate was due solely to the adoption of the
Thomas splint. Other advances in military surgery had also taken place, allowing complex and severe wounds to be treated more efficiently than ever before.
When I was Resident Surgical Officer in Sheffield in 1953 I prided myself at my skill in putting on the
Thomas splint. On one occasion, for a wager, I did it with my eyes shut to mimic the stretcher bearers of World War I - it was quite difficult!
Hugh Owen Thomas, an orthopaedic surgeon from a long line of folk medicine practitioners known as the 'Anglesey bonesetters', saved thousands of lives in the trenches with his
Thomas Splint, which immobilised fractured limbs.
The
Thomas splint is surely the best known appliance in orthopaedic and trauma surgery (Ellis 2007).
This short communication disucss a case of femur fracture showing good healing with intramedullary pinning supported by modified
Thomas splint.
His descendant Hugh Owen Thomas invented the
Thomas splint which cut the number of deaths from leg fractures duringWorld War I.
Surely the best known appliance in orthopaedics and trauma surgery is the
Thomas splint, and the story of its evolution is interesting.
Along with the angular frame device, a modified
Thomas splint was prepared for the support of the body in standing position.
The limb was immobilized by applying a modified
Thomas splint. Post-operatively the animal was given AC-Vet Max (a) 4.5 g and Melonex (a) injection @ 20 ml for one week intramuscularly.
In this context, this paper describes addition of fetlock flexion frame along with modified
Thomas splint for the successful repair of a case.
Post-operatively the limb was immobilized with modified
Thomas splint for four weeks (Fig.
Plaster cast alone or
Thomas splint application will not yield adequate fracture reduction and immobilization in large animals.
Cases of accidents were mostly attributed to automobile injuries leading to fracture of tibia and metatarsal bones which were immobilized with external
Thomas splints as invasive procedures were not very cost effective.
