REVIEW ARTICLE


Plaster of Paris–Short History of Casting and Injured Limb Immobilzation



B. Szostakowski, P. Smitham, W.S. Khan*
University College London Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, HA7 4LP, London, UK


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Creative Commons License
© 2017 Szostakowski et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the University College London Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, HA7 4LP, London, UK, Tel: +44 (0) 7791 025554; Fax: +44 (0) 20 8570 3864; E-mails: wasimkhan@doctors. org.uk, wasim.khan@ucl.ac.uk


Abstract

Various materials have been used since ancient times to help immobilise fractures. In this review, we discuss the history and developments of these materials as well as plaster of Paris. There has been a recent trend away from non-operative management of fractures, and skills in the use of plaster of Paris are declining. For the successful treatment of patients, it is important to appreciate how plaster works, how it should be used, and what can go wrong. In this review, we also discuss principles of applications and complications of plaster of Paris.

Keywords: Immobilisation, Plaster of Paris, Non-operative management, Fractures, Complications.