70.6 Plastercraft

Using plaster skilfully is a craft worth learning. A poorly applied malleolar cast, for example, can make it impossible to reduce an ankle fracture. A really critical cast can mean so much to a patient that you should try to apply it yourself. Less critical casts can be applied by an assistant, but only provided you train him carefully and continually supervise him. Ways of making each particular cast are described later, so here are some of the points of technique which apply to all of them.

Figure 70.4: WETTING A PLASTER BANDAGE. Hold the bandage in your right hand. Unwind it half a turn, hold it with your left hand, and put both hands in water. leave the bandage under the water for about 5 seconds until the bubbles have stopped. Hold it gently, so that water enters all its layers. Then, holding one end of the bandage in each hand, take it out of the water, and twist it gently. This will remove excess water, and yet keep the powdered plaster in the bandage. Don’t wring it out, or squeeze it, because this will leave it too dry to make a good cast.