PROPERTIES OF THE GUTTA. 
27 
trouble of the Surgeon. When I think of the farago of band¬ 
ages and splints got rid of, the lightness and simplicity of the 
application, the Gutta would be no trifling boon to mankind were 
it to be used solely for this and no other purpose. The injuries 
coming under my observation wherein I have tested its utility 
have, as yet, only been two compound fractures of the leg, and 
one of the jaw. But so admirably has it not only answered, but 
exceeded, my expectations, that I should think myself culpable in 
not giving the facts early publicity. Its utility in fracture of the 
lower jaw must at once strike any Surgeon. So well does it 
mould itself to every sinuosity, that it is more like giving the 
Patient a new bone than a mere support. A man lately brought 
into Hospital, who had his lower jaw broken by the kick of a 
horse, and which was so severe as to cause hemorrhage from the 
ears, smashing the bone into several fragments, was able to eat 
and speak in three days after the accident, and felt so well with 
his Gutta splint that he insisted upon leaving the Hospital with¬ 
in ten days. My mode of applying this substance to fractures of 
the leg is as follows. 
The Gutta having been previously rolled out into sheets of 
convenient size, and aboutSone fourth of an inch in thickness, is 
thus kept ready for use. When required, a piece of the neces¬ 
sary length and breadth is plunged into a tub of boiling water. 
The limb of the patient is then gently raised by assistants, mak¬ 
ing extension in the usual manner. The Surgeon, having ascer¬ 
tained that the broken bone is in its place, lakes the sheet of Gutta 
out of the hot water, and allows it to cool for a couple of minutes. 
It is still soft and pliable as wash leather. Place it whilst in this 
state under the limb, and gently lower the latter down on it. The 
Gutta is then to be brought round and moulded carefully to the 
whole of the back and sides of the leg, bringing the edges close 
together, but not uniting them. If there be any superfluous sub¬ 
stance, it can be cut off with a scissor, leaving an open slit down 
the front of the leg. You have now the leg in a comfortable, 
soft, and smooth case, which, in ten minutes, will he stiff enough to 
retain any shape the Surgeon may have given it, and which will 
also retain the bone in situ. Place the log so done up on a 
double inclined plane, and secure it therein by passing three of 
