Surgical cast

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A surgical cast is a device used to restrain a limb to facilitate bone healing, similar to a splint. This is usually done by encasing the extremity in a hard substance.

Plaster of Paris has been used since 1852 when Mattijsen, a military surgeon, made the first plaster bandage in the Netherlands. Before plaster of Paris, gypsum powder had been used in Egypt and by the Turkish empire in Bassora many years before Mattijsen used the powder to stabilise fractures. They had placed the fractured leg in a box and poured a powder-water mix over the extremity - The British consul, William Eton had reported that to Europe, although it was some time before it was commonly used.

Because plaster is heavy and takes up to 2 days to fully cure, today casts are made of synthetic materials such as fiberglass or thermoplastic.