Wet or dry bandages for plaster back-slabs?

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic surgery
• Biomedical engineering
• Materials science

Background:

• Cotton crepe and stretch bandages are standard in orthopaedic back-slabs and casts.
• These bandages theoretically accommodate post-injury swelling while immobilizing fractures.
• Wet bandages are used to slow Plaster-of-Paris setting, aiding application and positioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the dimensional changes of common bandages when wet and upon drying.
• To determine if these changes impact the constriction of splints in orthopaedic applications.

Main Methods:

• Two bandage types (cotton crepe and cling) were tested.
• 250 mm strips were immersed in water, gently squeezed, and measured.
• Strips were then allowed to dry and re-measured to assess further length changes.

Main Results:

• Both cotton crepe and cling bandages exhibited significant shrinkage of approximately 7% when wet.
• This shrinkage indicates a potential for increased pressure on the limb when a wet bandage dries within a splint.

Conclusions:

• The drying contraction of wet bandages can lead to dangerous constriction within orthopaedic splints.
• This phenomenon may explain why some back-slabs require loosening.
• It is recommended to apply bandages exclusively in their dry form to prevent adverse constriction.