Splinting material is a low temperature plastic that must be heated in hot water to make it pliable. It is then molded to a person’s hand to protect it after surgery, immobilize joints or with elastics pulley systems to improve motion. So we pack up our fry pans, Velcro, splinting material and off we go. Except when the supplies don’t arrive…
Shafquat came to the rescue. Previous Interplast trips had left supplies, so he had them brought up to the recovery room where I set up. It is a very big room that the patients are being blocked (anesthesia) as well as recovering post-op. Shafquat sent up a sterilizer with hot water for me to use. There is no temperature setting so the water is just about boiling. It is much hotter than it should be for the splinting material so I do quick dips to try to control it. Then came the scissors……12 inch monsters that chew through the material at best. They are a bit daunting to say the least, and I am now called “Susie Scissor Hand”.
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