Hugh Owen Thomas

Hugh Owen Thomas (23 August 1834 – 6 January 1891) was a Welsh orthopaedic surgeon. He and his nephew Robert Jones have been called "the Fathers of orthopaedic surgery".

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. Provided by Wikipedia