MMI September 2010 - mmi home

Splintage & Trauma Accessories Service Sector 39
finger splint and a roll of household sticky
tape; thus demonstrating how do-it-yourself
trauma accessories can prove to be versatile
and effective in unexpected and impromptu
situations. Indeed, a patient with a broken
panel of ribs can benefit simply from a hand
or layers of tape being placed across the
injury, creating a splint for the chest wall
which can prevent suffocation. Mr Fryer
added: “A lot of splinting is improvised. You
can make splints from cardboard boxes or
wire ladders.”
Perhaps the most notable examples of
home-made splintage stem from the Vietnam
war, where field medics frequently created
splints by strapping affected limbs with
branches, poles and even rifle parts, largely
due to the inadequacy of splintage products
available at the time. It was from his
experience as a trauma surgeon in Vietnam
that Dr Sam Scheinberg sought to invent a
more appropriate method and the SAM splint
was born. Composed from a slim core of
aluminium alloy held between two layers of
foam, the SAM splint is pliable and can be cut
to shape using scissors but when bent into a
curve, creates a strong support for any
fractured limb which can be attached using
bandage or adhesive tape.
Paul Fryer added: “You can bend SAM
splints to contour the shape of the body and
can do some amazing things with them. You
can join them together or make what they
call an aeroplane splint by crimping the bend
at a triangle.” Aeroplane splints are particularly
useful when assisting injuries such as a
dislocated shoulder, since this shape fits
neatly with the recommended ‘teapot’ stance
or holding one’s arm in a triangular manner,
taking pressure off the nerves and vessels and
reducing pain. The SAM splint appeals to
those working onboard due to its versatility,
whereby one product allows wide scope in its
usage and the need to carry
numerous product styles and
different sizes is reduced.
Recognising this demand for
adaptable splintage and
trauma accessories, Ferno has
produced an extrication collar
called Wizlock, which is
designed to fit any individual.
Bernard Murphy explains: “A lot
of extrication collars are made
in various sizes and it’s difficult
to measure them. In studies
we performed, 53% of patients
were going into ER
departments with wrongly
fitted collars. So we set about
designing a collar where
instead of making the patient
fit the collar, you turn it round
so you’re making the collar fit
the patient. You’ve got one
collar which will cover
everyone from aged six
months up and it will actually
fit each individual patient because it can
adjust. There are three settings which are
standard, tall and low, 80% of patients would
require the middle ‘standard’ section. The
beauty is that one size fits all.”
Products which promote adaptability and
ease of use hold natural appeal in shipping,
an industry where limited space onboard
can influence emergency response efforts.
One trauma product which remains popular
despite being invented in the early twentieth
century is the Neil Robertson stretcher.
Composed of cotton, hemp rope, brass
eyelets and stainless steel rings, this handsewn
stretcher is recommended in Board of
Trade listings for use on ships, demonstrating
that a strong design can stand the test of
time.
Ferno also produces the paraguard; an
evacuation stretcher that folds in half and
according to Mr Murphy is “the only stretcher
that can be used in confined space rescue”.
He added: “You can break the stretcher in half
to take the patient around a bend in a
confined space. If you can imagine four tubes
– there’s a linking section between the two so
you can twist and slide it so that the stretcher
hinges at 90 degrees.” In trauma situations,
the use of a practical stretcher onboard
combined with appropriate splintage can
mean the difference between successful
recovery and aggravating injuries through
dangerous transportation of the patient.
“Onboard a ship or yacht, if you’ve got
“Vacuum splints were
invented 20 years ago but
we have improved on this
existing product with a
vacuum mattress that you
can use for patient
evacuation”
somebody who is injured and you need to
move the casualty below deck or to a place of
safety, you need to splint fractured limbs first,”
said Paul Fryer. “Obviously you don’t want to
make any injury worse by moving the patient
without their injury being splinted. If you
have a fractured lower leg and then try to
move the patient to a place of safety or down
below deck, a simple fracture could change
to an open fracture and the bone could slide
through the skin.
“Then you have the problem of
haemorrhaging. You’ve breached the skin so
the patient is prone to infection. Under
normal circumstances, anyone with an open
fracture would immediately be given
prophylaxis coverage but onboard a ship they
may not have the drugs and necessary
qualified staff. If bacteria enters the wound,
within a couple of hours the patient could
develop gas gangrene which could be fatal or
result in them having their limb amputated.
Splintage is very important in preventing the
injury from becoming worse, assisting with
easing pain and preventing blood loss.” ❤
september 2010 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ maritime medical international