Whitman Plaster Cast

The Whitman cast (named after the American surgeon R. Whitman, 1857-1946) is a type of plaster cast used to immobilize the limbs. It was developed by Whitman in the early 20th century and is still widely used in traumatology.

A distinctive feature of this bandage is that it fixes not only the joint, but also the adjacent limb segments above and below the joint. This provides better immobilization and prevents displacement of bone fragments during fractures.

The Whitman plaster cast is applied as follows: first, a tight bandage is applied with an elastic bandage to the area above and below the damaged joint, then plaster bandages are applied covering the entire damaged segment.

This technique allows for strong fixation and prevents displacement of bone fragments during the entire period of fracture healing. Whitman's plaster cast is still the "gold standard" of immobilization for fractures and joint injuries.

Whitman plaster cast

Whitman, Richard Sandford "Puravec"

American surgeon Richard Sandforth was born in 1867 in New York. His father was a missionary, his mother a member of the Quaker movement. At the age of 17, young Richard decides to devote his life to medicine and, after graduating from medical school at Yale University, continues his education in Germany and France. Since the age of 25, he has been a successful practicing surgeon, a participant in scientific conferences and an associate of representatives of the Quincke medical community. He became an active member of the American Medical Association and one of the founders of the oldest surgical society in the United States, the American Surgical Club.

He can rightfully be called a pioneer of the era of facial plastic surgery. As a plastic surgeon, Whitman prefers not only to correct physical flaws in patients’ bodies, but also to rejuvenate, or, on the contrary, age, in accordance with the client’s wishes. His first patient is the artist Berent Gumpp, who asked to make him an elderly bearded man. Whitman had to use a colostomy method for this,