Controlled pressure casting of tibial fractures: a preliminary report.

A new method for the application of a Sarmiento below-knee plaster brace is described together with the results of its use in 22 fractures of the shaft of the tibia. Adequate control of the fractures was obtained and the rate of union appeared satisfactory. The range of movement of the knee and ankle at the time of removal of the cast were more than two-thirds the normal range in respectively 90 per cent and 80 per cent of fractures of the tibia so treated. Consequently, the need for physiotherapy was reduced.