![]() ![]() ![]() It is sufficiently rigid and allows immobilisation to allow healing to take place. This allows POP to be contoured according to the limb that it is applied to. The biggest advantage of POP is the property that allows itself to moulding. The setting of unmodified plaster starts about 10 min after mixing and is complete in about 45 min however, the cast is not fully dry for 72 h. When water is added, the more soluble form of calcium sulphate returns to the relatively insoluble form, and heat is produced. Plaster of Paris is calcined gypsum (roasted gypsum), ground to a fine powder by milling. 6 It is used in the correction of deformities like fixed flexion deformity of the knee.ģ. Plaster of Paris – properties and complications It has also been used in the management of neuropathic joints and diabetic ulcers. 5 POP was used in the immediate management of Open fractures until the evolution of external fixator. Casting over stumps has allowed immediate rehabilitation using prosthesis. 4 Plaster of Paris is used in postoperative immobilisation and also in the management of some amputees. 3 Risser also introduced a method for treatment of scoliosis by casting. He also introduced turnbuckle cast that is used in the management of scoliosis. Hibbs introduced postoperative immobilisation using POP jacket in patients of Pott's spine. Plaster has also been used to treat fracture and deformities in spine. 2 In DDH Hip spica is used once reduction is achieved either by closed or open methods. What was once considered a surgically treatable condition is now managed by serial casting due to the innovation of Kite and Ponseti. In Paediatric orthopaedics POP has revolutionised the management of club foot. Sarmiento 1 has shown that the management of low energy fractures of humerus and tibia is possible without functional compromise with a POP cast even in the age of AO and ORIF. It started out as a method to immobilise and hold reductions in the management of adult and paediatric fractures, for which it still continues to be used. The uses of POP have only evolved with time. The idea of incorporating POP in bandages was hit upon by two surgeons, Antonius Mathijsen and Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov in the 1850's. This was however bulky and alternatives were sought. Patients with fractures in the long bones of leg were placed in long narrow wooden boxes and the gaps filled with POP. ![]() This was the time POP was beginning to be used in construction and by sculptors, surgeons observing its properties hit upon the idea of using it in orthopaedics. More materials were tried like wax, starch, cardboard but all ended in failure. Splints made of bamboo and wooden sticks were used in the ancient times but they couldn't be relied upon to hold the reduction. The need to immobilise the fracture to prevent pain and deformity and all the while allowing mobilisation has been the perennial problem in orthopaedics. But its use predates the industrial revolution, they have been found on the insides of pyramids. The name Plaster of Paris (POP) had its origins from the fact that it was extensively mined from Montmartre in Paris district. ![]()
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