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Choice of Treatment

EDWIN O. GECKELER, M.D.

Arch Surg. 1950;61(3):469-476.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

A LARGE proportion of comminuted fractures of the heel terminate in prolonged pain and disability; such poor results are due partly to the trauma but even more so to improper treatment. Many practitioners, being misled by the absence of severe pain and external deformity, consider these fractures of minor importance and give them little attention. The disability which follows these injuries, however, is realized by the insurance companies. Recently the orthopedic consultant to one of the companies reviewed 100 cases and found that the average time lost from work after comminuted fractures was eighteen months, with an average payment of $1,561 for compensation during that time. There was a decided permanent disability in almost every instance.

In treating these fractures some surgeons are so skeptical about the results that they recommend practically nothing for them, while others have been so radical as to excise the heel or to amputate on . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
PHILADELPHIA

From the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Fractures, Hahnemann Hospital.

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