Early Functional Treatment and Modern Cast Making for Indications in Hand Surgery

Figure 1

Application of custom-made orthoses. (a) Basic cushioning with tube-gauze and Microfoam™-tape; function: (i) cushioning and (ii) absorption of skin moisture. (b) Circular application of semirigid cast role (red: Soft-Cast™, width 2.5–5 cm). No more than two to four layers of the material are necessary. (c) Integration of rigid cast stripes (white: Primacast™). There is sufficient time to bring each joint and finger in the desired functional position. Note: hardening through polymerization is strongly accelerated (<3 min) by the application of water via a moist bandage. A final trim of semirigid cast material (in contrast to rigid cast material) can be easily performed after hardening. If out-of-cast physiotherapy is desired, the orthoses can be cut open dorsally and self-adhesive Velcro™-tape applied to refitting as seen in Figure 2. Note: disposable rubber gloves should be worn to avoid chronic exposure to solvent in the synthetic cast material.

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(b)

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