During the course of my intern service at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, I came in contact with numerous infections and disorders of the phalanges, both in the surgical wards and in the outpatient dispensaries. I found that, in treating these conditions, immobilization for a short period with the use of a simple finger splint in addition to the usual hypertonic wet dressings shortened the duration and intensity of symptoms and hastened the healing process.
I have done extensive reading among the numerous articles dealing with finger splints, and so far I find that the splint generally used in such conditions is the ordinary tongue depressor. After using this splint several times on miscellaneous infections about the finger tip, I noticed certain disadvantages:
1. The splint was hard and, if applied tightly, became painful to the patient after several hours.
2. It will not conform to a rounded surface, as it