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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

8th Battalion AIF Diary Found !


pompeyrodney

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Marina, you are right about rapid medical/surgical advances in wartime. I posted some information here

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...ndpost&p=217248

written by a surgeon who worked in Belgium in the first months of the war. He describes the process of using steel plates for bridging gaps in bone.

An alternative would be use a bone graft from another person. The bone would probably be taken from someone who had just died or who had just had the arm amputated. The section of bone would be cut to size, defleshed, possibly boiled. The key is to keep the calcium skeleton with as little protein and other foreign matter as possible. The new 'bone' can then be put into the gap, forming a rigid skeleton and thereby enabling new bone to bridge the gap by growing across the insert.

Robert

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Marina, you are right about rapid medical/surgical advances in wartime.  I posted some information here

That's all fascinating stuff, Robert. I had no idea at all that they could do that kind of grafting so early in the century . Thanks for the link.

Marina

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Another man's arm does that say?

GULP

Marina

Hi Marina

It does indeed say from anothers mans arm, which is why I said you would find it interesting reading. I will post the other pictures tonight so you can see how the new bone forms across the gap.

Julian

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Hi Jules

Fascinating x-rays! Is there any mention of which hospital this incredible surgery was carried out at? When you brought it up earlier - I assumed that the operation was probably done in England - but as the first photo is dated 4/12/18 - and John arrived back in Melbourne 18/11/18 (not returning to England until 1920) - it had to be done here.

It would be interesting to know who the surgeon was too.

Cheers, Frev

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Hi All

Frev you have really set me thinking about the dates involved now, will do some more digging !! :P

Regards

Julian

post-3340-1118854914.jpg

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Hi All

Frev you have really set me thinking about the dates involved now, will do some more digging !!  :P

Regards

Julian

post-3340-1118854914.jpg

Was that wire in the wound, or wire from the graft?

Robert? Are you there?

Marina

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Marina, I doubt the wire was from the time when the wound occurred. I understand John was hit in the elbow by a sniper's bullet. I wouldn't think this would have contaminated the wound with wire. Methinks it was used to hold the bone graft in place. Nice piece of work. Did John suffer from any paralysis in the hand after the wound?

Robert

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Marina, I doubt the wire was from the time when the wound occurred.  I understand John was hit in the elbow by a sniper's bullet.  I wouldn't think this would have contaminated the wound with wire.  Methinks it was used to hold the bone graft in place.  Nice piece of work.  Did John suffer from any paralysis in the hand after the wound?

Robert

Thanks, Robert. Didn't Jules mention somewhere that tehre was a stiffness in his arm? Maybe I'm misremembering.

Marina

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Marina, I would expect stiffness in the arm. The elbow joint will have been destroyed. There are some important nerves that run past the elbow. I suspect at least one of these may have been destroyed or damaged. If so, there may have been numbness and/or paralysis of the hand and/or fingers.

Robert

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Marina, I would expect stiffness in the arm.  The elbow joint will have been destroyed.  There are some important nerves that run past the elbow.  I suspect at least one of these may have been destroyed or damaged.  If so, there may have been numbness and/or paralysis of the hand and/or fingers.

Robert

Sounds likely. Come on, Jules - report in!

Marina

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Hi Jules

Fascinating x-rays!  Is there any mention of which hospital this incredible surgery was carried out at?  When you brought it up earlier - I assumed that the operation was probably done in England - but as the first photo is dated 4/12/18 - and John arrived back in Melbourne 18/11/18 (not returning to England until 1920) - it had to be done here.

It would be interesting to know who the surgeon was too.

Cheers, Frev

Hi Frev

Thisa should answer your question but it also throws up some more as well?

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Thanks Marina

Looks like I could do with some surgery myself - on both the eyes & the brain!  :blink:

Cheers, Frev

Hi Frev

This should interest you my friend

Regards

Julian

post-3340-1118954831.jpg

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Evening All

I will post the final pictures of the operation this evening so lets be having some responses from you all. Get those fingers moving you lot :P:P

Regards

Julian

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Sorry I am late folks but here is the next picture in the series:

post-3340-1119474571.jpg

More to follow back shortly

Julian

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College of surgeons might be able to tell us more about Moore - obviously a very good orthapaedic surgeon.

I presume by Robert's description that the implanted bone is effectively sterilised and "killed" by boiling to avoid rejection problems. The man's own bone then invades and surrounds it.

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Here is the next one for you Marina

post-3340-1119474952.jpg

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And finally the last picture

post-3340-1119475665.jpg

Tomorrow I shall post some pictures from the hospital gazette together with some interesting stories. Until then goodnight all.

Regards

Julian

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I compared the latest pics with th earliest - it really is astonishing what the doctor has achieved. So how did the injury affect John thorugh his life, Jules?

Marina

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Jules,

It's a real bonus that your grandfather kept such fantastic records. The suffering the wounded had to endure (even when they kept limbs) is really bought home by these X-Rays. My grandfather sufferred a similar wound in the upper arm in which he didn't need an implant (and also one to the chest). Just makes you respect them all even more.

Rgds

Tim

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