Thanks to everyone who helped out.
In reply to Alan Pearce's question. Hugh Owen Thomas was a rather abrasive
character who was basically using techniques that he had learnt as a
bone-setter rather than as a member of the medical elite. It was his
nephew, Robert Jones who, when he got a job as Medical Officer to the
Manchester Ship Canal, went to Thomas to learnt his techniques. Robert
Jones was much more conventional and established the first "bones" ward at
the Royal Southern Hospital in Liverpool, which dealt with the Liverpool
docks and Liverpool 8. He became more renowned and was appointed to the
Army Medical Board. It was there that he managed to persuade the British
Army to introduce the Thomas splint.
Other curios are that the Royal Southern hospital also was the home of
Ronald Ross's first Malaria Ward ( and explains the renown of the Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine). A lady by the name of Agnes Hunt ran an
orphanage in Oswestry, and hearing of Robert Jones brought her children on
the train to Birkenhead, crossed on the Mersey Ferry and wheeled them on a
platform trolley to the Royal Southern where he operated on them. Hence the
term orthopaedics meaning (he thought ) "straight children". As Agnes Hunt
grew older Robert Jones made the journey to Oswestry and operated behind
screens in the garden. The infection rate was lower because he had
unwittingly created an orthopaedic laminar air flow operating theatre,
something to be rediscovered by Charnley & Howarth years later. Howarth was
an engineer who used to race Jaguars in his youth. You could always tell
his cars because he removed one of the headlights and replaced it with an
air intake. The cars speed turbocharged the engine with cold air causing
greater performance.
Robert Jones (back to him) had problems at Oswestry. He found that the
children would take the bandages off to look at what he had done. As the
mainstay against infection was immobilisation this undid his efforts. He
therefore started to use a layer of cotton wool, a layer of calico bandage,
a layer of cotton wool, and a final layer of calico. This would stretch
from ankle to groin. He would supervise the nurse stitch the final bandage
in place and would then put sealing wax on it and imprint his signet ring.
Woe betide anyone who broke the seal! If only nurses put the Robert Jones
bandage on that way today!
I have an autobiography of a Preston doctor who asked Hugh Owen Thomas to
see one of his patients who had a persistent osteomyelitis sinus. Thomas
visited Preston and ordered that sawdust mixed with a proportion of
carbolic acid should be applied to the sinus and changed daily. Nowadays I
suppose he would use Iodosorb!
So much for the medical trivia. Its the kind of thing I remembered the
great and the good tell me on ward rounds, it was always more interesting
than learning the ocular palsies ;-) ( Right 3rd nerve).
Bye.
Vic
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