[Mathijsen and plaster casts].
In 1851, Antonius Mathijsen (1805-1878), a Dutch military surgeon, developed a practical method for immobilizing limb fractures with plaster casts. Previous attempts had been made by using soluble material for moulding casts to replace the traditional methods of traction or splinting. Disadvantages included the long drying-time required (e.g. with glue) or the requirement for hot water plus the resultant skin irritation (e.g. with gutta-percha). Plaster of Paris had occasionally been tried but proved unwieldy. Mathijsen used plaster of Paris in various different ways, the most successful being cotton bandages impregnated with plaster in powder form to which water had been added. His method was adopted worldwide within a decade. Mathijsen never married and spent his old age with relatives in the south of the Netherlands.
Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. jan@vangijn.com
Jan
J
van Gijn
Joost P
JP
Gijselhart
D002370:Casts, Surgical / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history*; D009426:Netherlands