THE BALKAN FRAME REVISITED: ORIGINS ANDMISNAMING OF A TRACTION APPARATUS

The term “Balkan Frame,” also known as the Balkan splint or Balkan traction frame, has long been erroneously attributed to the Balkan War of 1912–1913. In fact, it was devised in 1911 by Vatroslav Florschütz (1879–1967) in Osijek (Croatia) to suspend the lower limb using a sheet attached to a single rigid pole for treating compound femoral fractures. Florschütz presented his method at the First Congress of Yugoslav Surgeons in Belgrade in 1912. In 1915, the original device was modified at the American Hospital in Juilly (France) into a portable overhead apparatus with iron bars, a movable pulley, and later, a wooden trolley. Although this version differed markedly from Florschütz’s design, the term “Balkan Frame” endured. Henry Lyle (1874–1947) later proposed renaming it the Whitney–Juilly Frame in honor of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), the hospital’s founder, while Joseph A. Blake (1864–1937) further improved its suspension. These changes increased portability and patient comfort while preserving its suspension and traction principles. Correcting this misattribution supports historical accuracy and reinforces scholarly rigor in orthopedic knowledge.