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Orthopedics and Beyond:

The Orr Method

Orr in WWI uniform
H. Winnett Orr, MD, c. 1918

Gift of J. Douglass Klein, grandson of Dr. H. Winnett Orr, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Robert S. Wigton Department of Special Collections and Archives

The Orr Method

During WWI, Dr. Orr was stationed with the Army Medical Department in England and France as a member of the Goldthwait Unit of orthopedic surgeons. Commissioned as a captain in 1917, he served two years and was discharged in 1919 as a lieutenant colonel. During his service, Dr. Orr observed that open fractures from gunshot wounds healed very slowly. He became convinced that continued and frequent wound dressing changes delayed healing. Inspired by Hugh Owen Thomas’s “rest, enforced uninterrupted and prolonged” philosophy, Dr. Orr developed a different treatment that was known as the “Orr Method” for treating bone and wound infections and compound fractures. This involved encasing open wounds in plaster, even suppurating wounds. The immobilization allowed the wounds to heal more quickly. He also developed techniques using skeletal pins, plaster of Paris and other immobilizing devices for stabilizing compound fractures. At his death in 1956, Dr. Orr was buried in Arlington Cemetery with full military honors.

Scan of Orr method publication image
The Treatment of Osteomyelitis and Other Infected Wounds by Drainage and Rest, 1927

Image of patient from Orr's book

Patient in fracture bed with Balkan frame and ice tongs, c. 1918

Gift of J. Douglass Klein, grandson of Dr. H. Winnett Orr, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Robert S. Wigton Department of Special Collections and Archives

Ice Tongs, c. 1917

The Hiram Winnett Orr Papers (MS-086), from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Robert S. Wigton Department of Special Collections and Archives

Photograph of tombstone 
Orr's tombstone at Arlington Cemetery

The quote on the tombstone, “I dressed the wound, and God healed it” is from 16th century French barber surgeon Ambroise Paré. Courtesy of Maria Shellman.

Highlights from the Collection

World War I

World War I

Dr. Orr was commissioned a captain on May 18, 1917, and served two years in England, Wales and France. He was discharged at the rank of lieutenant colonel on June 1, 1919. Dr. Orr’s use of plaster to reinforce immobilization and rest fractures became known as the “Orr Method.”

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The Study of Orthopedics

The Study of Orthopedics

As an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Orr collected many works related to the history of his chosen field. In his collection, Dr. Orr also included many publications about his contributions to orthopedics.

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