New Medical Techniques

• The Thomas splint was developed to deal with broken bones, specifically a broken leg in World War One
• Transporting a man with a broken leg in World War One was dangerous due to the jagged edges of broken bones causing internal bleeding
• 80% of soldiers with broken legs, especially those with compound fractures, died from bleeding and infection during evacuation from the trenches
• Thomas splint


  It pulled the break apart, stopping it from rubbing and preventing internal bleeding, leading to a significant reduction in the death rate from 80% to 20%
• Versions of the Thomas splint have been used up to the present day
• Wound excision or debridement involved cutting away dead, damaged, and infected tissue from around the wound to reduce infection
• Carol Dakin method involved irrigating the wound with sterilized salt solution to fight infections caused by gas gangrene
• If wound excision or antiseptics failed to stop the infection, amputation was the last resort
• By 1918, 240,000 British soldiers had lost limbs due to amputation to prevent the spread of infection and death
• Thomas splint drastically reduced deaths from internal bleeding from compound fractures


  Death rate reduced from 80% to 20%
• Excision, debridement, and the Carol Dakin method were partially successful in treating infections during World War One
• Surgery and medical techniques in World War One advanced significantly despite the lack of antibiotic medicines