Staircase Crash Monday 13th October 2003

7.10pm Carrying Gilbert downstairs after his bath. I lost my footing and fell head first onto the floor below. My right arm went out to break our fall and took the full weight of the impact. My left elbow which was cradling Gilbert was bruised in the fall. I also received minor bruising to my legs. Gilbert was shocked but unharmed. Only a miracle prevented us from having two broken skulls on the stone floor.

I was treated at Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton in Ashfield. They couldn't find my notes from the last time I was there (1967 - Tonsilectomy & 1961 DOB). Went back to fracture clinic Tuesday. It is a bad break and 50/50 whether they will have to reset it with some metal wires in place. I'll know next week when I have to go for more Xrays.

It's weird not being able to write notes or sketch. Though I can type left-handed. Cant drive either, so I'm stuck in the sticks, at least for the time being. Its too uncomfortable to be travelling in any case. The docs said it would take 5 weeks for the break to mend. I guess I'll have to eat plenty of greens (iron) and drink milk (calcium)...maybe a few dog biscuits too, eh? (For healthy bones and teeth - apparently).

My brother Pete said that he'll bring some maggots round in a fortnight to sort out the dead skin underneath the plaster!

X-ray 22nd October 2003

Wrist fractures - Historical notes for Medical Students

A great turning point in the ability to understand and categorise wrist fractures came with Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s discovery of x-rays, for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Roentgen obtained the first radiograph of the hand in 1895. One year later, Sir Robert Jones published the first report on the clinical use of a radiograph to locate a bullet in the wrist. By the early 20th century, the radiograph allowed for the description of almost every currently known wrist fracture. The information revealed by radiographs naturally provided insight into fracture fixation, the value of which was perhaps greatest by the mid-20th century.

War has historically played a significant role in the development and refinement of surgical principles and procedures. The knowledge obtained from treating casualties during World War I played an important role during World War II, particularly in the arena of fracture fixation. During World War II, military surgeons developed a number of fixation procedures with the intent of expediting the return of soldiers to the battlefield.

Martin Kirschner was a German surgeon known for his fixation methods, in particular, the development of the Kirschner wire (K-wire) fixation technique. Contemporary surgeons continue to favour this fixation method in the treatment of unstable fractures. The K-wire fixation method is technically easy to perform and probably the least traumatic method of fixing bones.