Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1887
Complete Left, 1st Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 20th Apr., 1888
I, ANNIE CALLER of The City Hospital, corner of Howard and Eagle Streets
Albany in the County of Albany and State of New York United States of America,
Hospital Nurse, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
My Invention relates to a surgical splint adapted to hold reset or injured or sore
limbs while plaster moulds are hardening on them or while sores are healing; and
the invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, and effective
apparatus of this character, which may be applied easily and quickly. The splint is
more especially designed for holding limbs which have been broken and reset while
treating bow-legged or knock-kneed children.
The splint consists of a pair of telescopic side rails or bars, one pair of which has
inturned lips or flanges to receive the other pair. The one pair of side rails which
constitutes the body portion of the splint, rests on feet at one end, and these rails
are connected by a cross-bar having eyes for facilitating the extension of the appa-
ratus lengthwise while the outer ends of the other pair of side rails which constitutes
the foot portion of the splint, is fixed to vertical posts which are connected by a
cross-bar which is provided with foot rests, these rails being connected to the side
posts at sufficient height to cause the side rails of the splint to incline downward
from the feet towards the head of the patient sufficiently to prevent excessive flow.
of blood to the patient's feet or swelling of the feet or limbs being held by the splint,
in a manner presently explained. The pair of rails at the front portion carry a
metal plate made concave so as to form two concave rests for the calves of both legs
of the patient. The plate is perforated to admit air to the plaster casts in which the
patient's legs are bound up, and facilitate the quick setting of the plaster around
the limbs. The foot rests are, preferably, made of harness leather and padded on
the inside, and are hung by straps from eyes, staples, or rings, fixed to the cross bar
of the foot frame. A strap which is passed around the side rails of the splint and is
intended to encircle the patient's body at or near the hips and other straps passed
around each of the splint side rails are intended to bind the plaster encased limbs to
the rails.

page_text: The operation of the splint is very simple and effective, and as follows;--After a
child's bowed or otherwise crippled limbs are broken and reset straight and are
encased in plaster in the usual or any approved way, the child is slipped into the
splint or the splint is slipped under the reset limbs, and while the feet are placed in
the rests, the straps are buckled around the body and plaster encased limbs and the 5
limbs held securely and steadily in place while the plaster cast or mould sets or
hardens around or upon them, to await a proper knitting together of the reset
bones.
A. CALLER.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.

page_text: Improvements in Surgical Splints.
I, ANNIE CALLER, of the City Hospital, corner of Howard and Eagle Street
Albany, in the County of Albany, and State of New York, United States of America,
Hospital Nurse, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My Invention relates to a surgical splint adapted to hold reset or injured or sore
limbs while plaster moulds are hardening on them or while sores are healing; and
the invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective appa-
ratus of this character which may be applied easily and quickly. The splint is more
especially designed for holding limbs which have been broken and reset while treating
bow-legged or knock-kneed children.
The Invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations
of parts, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanyings, forming a part of this specification,
in which figure 1 is a side elevation shewing a child laid upon an operating table,
and my improved surgical splint or fracture apparatus applied to hold the child's
limbs in plaster casts or moulds. Figure is a longitudinal sectional elevation of
the splint taken on the line a x figure 3. Figure 3 is a plan view of the splint; and
figure is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line y-y figure 3. Similar letters
of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
The splint is made with opposite extensible side rails, each consisting of a metal
bar A provided at opposite edges with inturned lips or flanges a a which form a
pocket or guide to receive the other part or metal bar B of each rail and hold it to,
and allow it to be slid along, the bar A. The back ends of the bars A A are provided
with short posts or feet C C which-and it may be said bars also are connected to
a cross-bar D to which eyes or rings d d are attached, to admit the fingers to allow
more convenient extension of the side rails of the splint when adjusting it lengthwise
to patients of different stature. The forward ends of the side rail bars B B are fixed
to the opposite vertically ranging side posts E E which are connected at the tops by
a top cross-bar e', said parts EE, e forming the foot frame of the splint. The
bars B B are connected to the side posis E at sufficient height to cause the side rails
of the splint to incline downward from the feet toward the head of the patient,
sufficiently to prevent excessive flow of blood to the patient's feet or swelling of the
feet or limbs being held by the splint, in a manner presently explained. To the
opposite bars B B of the side rails of the splint, are fixed the opposite side edges of
a imetal plate F which is bent upward lengthwise at the centre and opposite edges, to
form two concaved rests ff to receive the calves of both legs of the patient. The
plate F is perforated, as clearly shewn in the drawings, to admit air to the plaster
casts in which the patient's legs are bound up and facilitate the quick setting of the
plaster around the limbs. Foot rests G G, preferably made of harness leather and
padded on the inside, are hung by straps g g, from eyes, staples, or rings, e e² fixed
to the top cross-bar of the foot frame. A strap H is passed around the side rails

page_text: of the splint, and is intended to encircle the patient's body at or near the hips, and
straps II passed around each of the splint side rails, are intended to bind the plaster-
encased limbs to the rails.
The operation of the splint is very simple and effective, and as follows;-After a
child's bowed or otherwise crippled limbs are broken and reset straight and are
encased in plaster in the usual or any approved way, it is the work of less than one
minute for two persons to slip the child into the splint or to slip the splint under the
reset limbs, and while the feet are placed in the rests G G, to buckle the straps H, I,
around the body and plaster-encased limbs, and hold the limbs securely and steadily
in place while the plaster cast or mould sets or hardens around or upon them, to
await a proper knitting together of the reset bones, so as to leave the formerly
crooked or crippled limbs straight and strong when the splint and the plaster cast or
mould are removed. The drawings, figure 1, shew the child resting by the head,
shoulders, and back, on a pillow J placed on the operating table K.
It is obvious that this splint may be so quickly and correctly adjusted, that all
dangers usually attending the holding of the reset and plaster-encased limbs by the
hands, such as throwing the broken bones out of place, are entirely obviated, and the
services of two persons for less than one minute, in applying the splint, effects a
large saving of time over that needed to hold the limbs by hand until the plaster
hardens, and which usually requires the work of two persons for from two to three
hours. The splint may be used with excellent results for holding sore limbs in place
while healing, as will readily be understood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;
1. A surgical splint, made with side rails and a plate connected thereto and bent to
form concave rests for both legs of the patient, substantially as herein set forth.
2. A surgical splint, made with extensible or telescoping side rails and a plate
connected to the rails and bent to form concave rests for both legs of the patient,
substantially as herein set forth.
3. A surgical splint, made with extensible or telescoping side rails supported so as
to incline downward from the feet toward the head of the patient, and supports for
the calves of the patient's legs attached to the side rails, substantially as herein set
forth.
4. A surgical splint, made with side rails, a plate connected thereto and bent to
form rests for both legs of the patient, a strap or band for securing the patient at the
hips or thereabouts, to the side rails, and straps for securing the patient's legs one to
each side rail of the splint, substantially as herein set forth.
5. A surgical splint, made with side rails, a plate connected thereto and shaped to
form rests for both legs of the patient, and separate rests for the feet of the patient
connected to the foot frame of the splint, substantially as herein set forth.
6. The combination, in a surgical splint, of opposite extensible side rails A B, A B,
posts CC, a cross-bar D connecting said posts or side rails, a foot frame E to which
the side rails are attached a plate F connected to the side rails and bent to form two
concaved leg-rests ff, foot rests G G, suspended from the frame E, and straps H, I,
adapted to secure the patient's limbs, substantially as described, for the purposes set
forth.
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