How do they make a cast for a broken bone?

[Alpo]

In the English murder mystery I'm reading, they have gauze bandage impregnated with plaster of Paris. They wrap it, and then wet it.

 

I've seen a couple of movies we're amateurs are doing it, and they mix up plaster of Paris in a bowl, wrap the arm (it's always an arm in the movie) and then spread the plaster over the bandage.

 

That seems like it would be quite messy. The plaster impregnated gauze seems like it would be easier to work with, but would the water use for wetting it make a mess?

 

There you have it. One way in a book, another in a movie. How do doctors here in the States do it?

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

30 minutes ago, Alpo said:

In the English murder mystery I'm reading, they have gauze bandage impregnated with plaster of Paris. They wrap it, and then wet it.

 

I've seen a couple of movies we're amateurs are doing it, and they mix up plaster of Paris in a bowl, wrap the arm (it's always an arm in the movie) and then spread the plaster over the bandage.

 

That seems like it would be quite messy. The plaster impregnated gauze seems like it would be easier to work with, but would the water use for wetting it make a mess?

 

There you have it. One way in a book, another in a movie. How do doctors here in the States do it?

They delegate it to the nurses.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

My first cast was with the impregnated gauze. Actually, they wrapped my wrist in plain gauze and then used an impregnated mesh that they pre-wet while it was still rolled, then wrapped the joint. 

 

My second cast, ankle, they used plain gauze again but then wrapped it in a fiberglass mesh. They then draped damp cloths over the mesh, which caused it to harden. Much more comfortable. Lighter and it could breathe.

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

In the English murder mystery I'm reading, they have gauze bandage impregnated with plaster of Paris. They wrap it, and then wet it.

 

In the 70's, I had an injury that required a new cast on my leg every day for a few days and then every couple of days and then weekly for a couple of months. These casts were made with gauze impregnated with plaster but they were still messy as the Dr had to wet them and then use his hands to "form" the cast. I had a sleeve of heavy material "think Ace Bandage" put on my leg first, then the gauze was wrapped on, wetted and formed.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

No help here.  Haven't had a broken bone for about 60 years.  I don't actually remember how they made my casts (Broken ankles) but I do remember breaking both ankles at the same time was not fun.

[Sedalia Dave]

 

How I vaguely remember it being don when I was 10 years old.

 

 

[Michigan Slim]

I was just starting to enjoy my morphine when my ankles and feet were wrapped. No idea how they did it. I do remember the cute little nurse trying to not puke as she lifted my feet. What was left of them.

[Pat Riot]

I have had a few casts. The first was the plaster of Paris impregnated gauze over a cotton stretchy sock thing. The others were a fiberglass mesh with a water activated adhesive over a cotton stretchy type sock. They were not as messy as the plaster of Paris when you got them wet. I like the fiberglass ones because they come in all kinds of cool colors. 
 

If you’re gonna break bones you may as well be colorful!

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

It's messy all right. An orthopedic clinic is like a carpentry shop. Wet glop, hammers, chisels, saws....

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

2 minutes ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

It's messy all right. An orthopedic clinic is like a carpentry shop. Wet glop, hammers, chisels, saws....

 

As mentioned above, I had numerous casts due to a severe injury. When the Dr started to cut off the first one with what I thought was a rotary saw, I jumped when I felt the blade touch my skin! I thought I was being sliced open. Then the Dr demonstrated to me that the blade goes back and forth and will not cut skin.

 

At a later time, I had a cast with metal rods through my bones connected to a compression system on the outside. When they removed this setup, they cut the stainless steel rods going through my leg and foot with a large bolt cutter and then "drilled" the rods out with a hand drill. Both of these implements were stored in sterile containers before use.

[Trailrider #896]

Thankfully, I've never had a cast on my body.  However, one technique for making model railroad scenery uses plaster-impregnated gauze laid over some sor of under-structure (a lattice of corregated cardboard works).  You wet the plaster cloth and lay it over the cardboard in several layers.  When dry, you can then trowel on a top layer of plaster-of-Paris, Hydrocal, etc.  Yeah, it's messy!

[Yul Lose]

One thing that I remember about my casts was that they were warm at first and as they set up they became cold. The body cast was very warm at first but as it set up I felt like an ice cube. Mom would put a heating pad on my chest at night to warm me up. Laying in a body cast in Creede, Colorado in the winter time was a life changing experience.

[Sedalia Dave]

22 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

One thing that I remember about my casts was that they were warm at first and as they set up they became cold. The body cast was very warm at first but as it set up I felt like an ice cube. Mom would put a heating pad on my chest at night to warm me up. Laying in a body cast in Creede, Colorado in the winter time was a life changing experience.

 

As plaster cures it generates heat. This is true of most items that use a catylist to cause a chemical reaction to take place.

 

Concrete, Plaster of Paris, Epoxy resins to name a few generate heat as they cure. Even corrosion of metals will generate heat if it happens fast enough. This is how hand warmers and MRE heat packs work.

[Yul Lose]

14 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

As plaster cures it generates heat. This is true of most items that use a catylist to cause a chemical reaction to take place.

 

Concrete, Plaster of Paris, Epoxy resins to name a few generate heat as they cure. Even corrosion of metals will generate heat if it happens fast enough. This is how hand warmers and MRE heat packs work.

Yep, that’s how they work. Once they’re set up it’s a whole different story.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

2 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

Thankfully, I've never had a cast on my body.  However, one technique for making model railroad scenery uses plaster-impregnated gauze laid over some sor of under-structure (a lattice of corregated cardboard works).  You wet the plaster cloth and lay it over the cardboard in several layers.  When dry, you can then trowel on a top layer of plaster-of-Paris, Hydrocal, etc.  Yeah, it's messy!

Check your messages.

[Alpo]

9 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

Thankfully, I've never had a cast on my body.  However, one technique for making model railroad scenery uses plaster-impregnated gauze laid over some sor of under-structure (a lattice of corregated cardboard works).  You wet the plaster cloth and lay it over the cardboard in several layers.  When dry, you can then trowel on a top layer of plaster-of-Paris, Hydrocal, etc.  Yeah, it's messy!

This book, the murderer wraps the victim's head in the gauze, then pours water on it.

 

He turns out (I've read the book before) to be a guy who plays tabletop war games, and that's why he has the gauze with him. He used it to build his battlefields, and had a couple of rolls in his car's trunk.