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Biomedical subjects

R G Thorpe

Publications and source records attributed to R G Thorpe.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

The transfixational plaster cast technique.

Unstable fractures of the forearm and leg as well as combined fractures of the arm and forearm are often difficult to treat adequately by closed reduction and plaster fixation. In tropical countries, however, open reduction is relatively contra-indicated because of increased risk of peri-operative infection, inadequate training of medical personnel, and lack of adequate equipment. Given these conditions, the use of the transfixational plaster cast offers an alternative which is simple, inexpensive, and with few complications. The principle and technique of the transfixational plaster cast are presented.

Bone Wires↗

Emergency obstetric surgery performed by nurses in Zaïre.

In rural northwestern Zaïre nurses at Karawa and Wasolo hospitals were trained to do caesarean sections, laparotomies, and supracervical hysterectomies. In Karawa 278 of 321 caesarean sections were done by nurse-surgeons in 18 months, with two deaths. In Wasolo all 32 caesarean sections in 13 months were done by the nurse-surgeons, with 1 death. Of the 37 laparotomies done in both centres, 16 were by nurse-surgeons, and there were two deaths. Four of the five deaths were attributable to protracted labour with septicaemia (1), postoperative infection (2), and protracted labour with no blood pressure on admission (1). Obstetric operations could safely be performed by specially trained nurses in rural areas of developing countries and the high maternal mortality rate in such areas could thus be reduced.

Cesarean Section↗