![Portrait of Hugh Owen Thomas (4671476)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Portrait_of_Hugh_Owen_Thomas_%284671476%29.jpg)
Hugh Owen Thomas (23 August 1834 – 6 January 1891) was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
orthopaedic surgeon
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
. He and his nephew
Robert Jones have been called "the Fathers of
orthopaedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
".
Thomas was descended from a line of Welsh bone setters and placed great importance on rest in treatment of fractures. He is responsible for a number of contributions to orthopaedic treatment and surgery, producing a number of books and methods that revolutionised orthopaedic practice. He is particularly known for the Thomas splint, which was widely used during World War I, reducing mortality from 80% to just 8% by the end of the war. His principles of practice were also spread to the USA by John Ridlon, amongst others.
Family background
Hugh Owen Thomas was the great-grandson of a young boy who had been shipwrecked on
Ynys Môn/
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
between 1743 and 1745 with his brother. One of the young brothers died a few days later bur the survivor was given the name Evan Thomas by the family that adopted and raised him, he established a family tradition of
bone-setting
Traditional bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners engaged in joint manipulation. Before the advent of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment. T ...
. Later DNA investigations found Evan Thomas to have come from the Caucasus mountains, on the Georgia-Russia border.
Early life and education
Hugh Owen Thomas was born on Ynys Môn/Anglesey on the 23rd of August, 1834 whilst his mother was visiting relative on the island. Hugh was described as frail child and his parents sent him to live with his grandparents on Ynys Môn/Anglesey until he was 13, hoping this environment would benefit his health more than industrial Liverpool. Whilst at school, another school-boy threw a stone at Thomas, hitting him causing an ectropion eye. Thomas started wearing an eye patch to keep the cold air out and later kept his peak hat down over it to stop others from staring.
The eldest son of Evan Thomas (the grandson of the prior Evan Thomas of the same name), Hugh Owen Thomas was educated at the college at New Brighton, until the age of 17. He was and apprentice to Dr. Owen Roberts before studying at Edinburgh University in 1855. Following two sessions in Edinburgh, he moved to University College London for his third session. In 1857 he qualified with an MRCS England and travelled to Paris to study surgery.
Professional career
Following his stint in France, Hugh Owen Thomas joined his father Evan Thomas' practice for a year.
His working relationship deteriorated with his father, as the academically uneducated father and medically educated son continued to disagree.
Thomas started his own practice at 24 Hardy Street, Liverpool and in 1866 he acquired 11 Nelson Street, Liverpool, enlarging the surgery house to contain two waiting rooms, four consulting rooms, a surgery, and a workshop.He employed a full-time smith and leather worker to make splints and other medical devices that he himself designed and treated many patients from the Merseyside area. He is known for his principles of rest and bone alignment before the discovery and use of x-ray and was also known for encouraging immobility and rest of the injured or diseased bone or joint. In 1875, Thomas published his first book, titled "''Diseases of the Hip, Knee, and Ankle Joints"'' where he first described his designs of the hip and knee splints.
Medical legacy
![Thomas's splint, fractures](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Thomas%27s_splint%2C_fractures._Wellcome_M0019190.jpg)
His contribution to orthopaedics was manifold. In the treatment of
fracture
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...
s and
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
he advocated rest, which should be 'enforced, uninterrupted and prolonged'. He designed the Thomas Splint to treat fracture of the femur and hip joint, the Thomas test to assess for hip contracture and extensibility, the Thomas collar to treat tuberculosis of the cervical vertebrae, and the Thomas manoeuvre to assess for hip joint fracture, the Thomas wrench to reduce fractures (bring bones back into place) and the Thomas heel to prevent depression of the talus bone (in the ankle).
Thomas Splint
In order to achieve a combination of prolonged rest, Thomas created the
'Thomas Splint', which would stabilise a fractured femur and prevent infection.
The Thomas splint was introduced in 1916 to treat injured soldiers and reduced the rate of mortality from fractures (particularly femoral fractures) from 80% to 20%, in 1918.
![Thomas test](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Thomas_test.webp)
Thomas Test
The
Thomas test
The Thomas test is a physical examination test, named after the Welsh orthopaedic surgeon, Hugh Owen Thomas (1834–1891), to rule out hip flexion contracture (fixed partial flexion of the hip) and psoas syndrome (injury to the psoas muscle) ...
, is a method of detecting hip flexion contracture (fixed partial flexion of the hip) and to measure hip extensibility by having a patient lie flat on a firm bed/table whilst holding one knee to their chest. The opposite thigh is then observed for hip contracture and extensibility.
Thomas manoeuvre
Thomas's manoeuvre' is an orthopaedic investigation for fracture of the hip joint.
Thomas Collar
The Thomas's collar' was designed and applied to treat tuberculosis of the cervical vertebrae of the spine.
Thomas Wrench
The 'Thomas's wrench' was designed for reducing fractures.
and correct clubfeet. The club foot would be rolled between the two shorter cylinders to forcibly correct it.
Thomas Heel
The 'Thomas heel' is part of a shoe for children consisting of a heel one-half inch (12 mm) longer, and an eighth to a sixth of an inch (4 to 6 mm) higher on the inside. This is used to bring the heel of the foot into
varus deformity Varus may refer to:
* Var River or Varus, a river in France
* Stura di Lanzo or Varus, a river in Italy
* Varus deformity, a medical term for the inward angulation of the distal segment of a bone or joint
** Coxa vara, affecting the hip
** Genu varu ...
, and to prevent depression in the region of the head of the
ankle bone
The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known as the tarsus. The tarsus forms the lower part of the ankle joint. It transmits the entire weight of the body from the ...
.
Works
*''Diseases of the hip, knee and ankle joints'' (1876)
*''A review of the past and present treatment of disease in the hip, knee, and ankle joints: With their deformities'' (1878)
*''The past and present treatment of intestinal obstructions'' (1879)
*''The treatment of fractures of the lower jaw'' (1881)
*''Intestinal disease and obstruction'' (1883)
*''Nerve inhibition and its relation to the practice of medicine'' (1883)
*''Principles of the treatment of diseased joints'' (1883)
*''The collegian of 1666 and the collegians of 1885: Or, what is recognised treatment?'' (1885)
*''The principles of the treatment of fractures and dislocations'' (1886)
*''Fractures, dislocations, diseases and deformities of the bones of the trunk and upper extremities'' (1887)
*''A new lithotomy operation'' (1888)
*''An argument with the censor at St. Luke's Hospital, New York'' (1889)
*''Fractures, dislocations, deformities and diseases of the lower extremities'' (1890)
*''Lithotomy'' (1890)
References
Further reading
*Aitken, D. McCrae, ''Hugh Owen Thomas: His Principles and Practice'' (London, Oxford university press, 1935)
*Watson, Frederick, ''Hugh Owen Thomas: A Personal Study'' (London, Oxford university press, 1934)
*Le Vay, Abraham David, ''The life of Hugh Owen Thomas'' (Edinburgh, 1956)
*
McMurray, Thomas Porter, ''The life of Hugh Owen Thomas: Centenary Lecture Delivered at the Liverpool Medical Institution'' (1935)
*
External links
Hugh Owen ThomasHistory of Surgeons – surgeons.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Hugh Owen
1834 births
1891 deaths
British surgeons
Medical doctors from Liverpool
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh