Chapter 21 Plaster
"Put the coarse cloth on the donkey cart."
Li Ang spread the coarse cloth on the donkey cart, folded it several times, and sprinkled Plaster Powder between the layers to make bandage rolls.
Then, he asked the middle-aged woman to keep her knee joint slightly bent at about 15 degrees while he soaked the bandage rolls in a basin of water and then wrapped them around the woman’s lower leg.
After the wrapping was complete, he ran back into the backyard, picked up several wooden strips, and wrapped them around the surface of the bandage rolls to help them set.
Several minutes passed. The plaster inside the bandage rolls gradually dried, soon turning into a semi-solid plasterboard that stabilized the woman’s injured leg.
"That should do it."
Li Ang sighed with relief, took a step back, and wiped his wet palms directly on his Clothes, not caring if any Plaster Powder stuck to them.
Fortunately, the patient only had a stable displaced fracture that could be manually repositioned. If it had been an open fracture, Security Hall wouldn’t have had the facilities for debridement, let alone any fracture braces.
Song Shaoyuan looked at the solidified Plaster on the patient’s leg and asked with a frown, "Is this... using Plaster to set it?"
"More precisely, it’s plaster bandages."
Li Ang explained, "Plaster Powder sets when it meets water. It can be used to stabilize injured legs, prevent movement that could lead to re-fracturing, and aid healing. However, if the Plaster is used to wrap the limb entirely, it could cause the leg to swell and affect blood supply. But using plaster bandages allows perfect conformity to the leg’s contours and provides some extra space, so it won’t affect the blood supply. Luckily, there’s a ceramic shop on this street. Otherwise, the unprocessed gypsum used for making tofu would have needed to be fired to turn it into usable Plaster."
He was explaining not only to Song Shaoyuan but also to the patient and the onlookers.