As I left the surgeon a few days ago I remembered that the chemist had told me that I needed an ordinance for the echarpe/sling from him. I explained and he looked confused for a moment and then his face cleared and he said Pour Le Napoleon? Oui! So there I had another (and excellent) word for the sling: un Napoleon but then, on the ordinance itself he wrote Une Epauliere so it seems that I now have un embarrasse of terms for the thing.