Evaluation of pressure beneath a split above elbow plaster cast.

It has previously been shown that splitting a plaster cast after manipulation of, or surgery on, a limb leads to a decrease in pressure beneath the cast by accommodating the swelling that may occur. However, it is not known whether the axis along which the cast is split influences the amount of swelling that can occur before a critical pressure is reached. We investigated this with reference to above elbow plaster casts.