U.S. patent number 3,766,913 [Application Number 05/032,950] was granted by the patent office on 1973-10-23 for surgical drape with absorptive region.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Kendall Company. Invention is credited to Jay Z. Balin.
United States Patent |
3,766,913 |
Balin |
October 23, 1973 |
SURGICAL DRAPE WITH ABSORPTIVE REGION
Abstract
A disposable surgical drape, having a fenestration therein
through which the surgeon has access to the surgical site of the
patient covered by the drape; the top surface of the region of the
drape adjacent the fenestration being fluid repellent and
non-absorptive; and another region of the drape adjacent said fluid
repellent, non-absorptive region which is capable of absorbing
fluids being located on the drape surface at a level below the
level of the fenestration and in the path of flow of fluid from the
surgical site across the repellent, non-absorptive region.
Inventors: |
Balin; Jay Z. (Chicago,
IL) |
Assignee: |
The Kendall Company (Boston,
MA)
|
Family
ID: |
21867752 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/032,950 |
Filed: |
April 29, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
128/853 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
46/00 (20160201) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
19/00 (20060101); A61B 19/08 (20060101); A61f
013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/132,269 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Charles; Lawrence
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A disposable article of surgical apparel for covering at least a
portion of the body during a surgical procedure comprising:
a drapable sheet of fiber-containing material resistant to the
passage of bacteria therethrough,
said sheet having a top surface providing the top surface of said
surgical apparel comprising a fluid repellent and nonabsorptive
region and a fluid absorptive region,
said fluid repellent, non-absorptive region of said top surface
located on the surgical apparel for positioning adjacent the
surgical site,
said fluid absorptive region of said top surface juxtaposed to said
fluid repellent, non-absorptive region and located at a lower level
than said repellent, non-absorptive region when said apparel is in
use covering a body or portion thereof and in the path of flow of
fluid from the surgical site across the fluid repellent,
non-absorptive region.
2. A disposable drape comprising a drapable sheet of
fiber-containing material resistant to the passage of bacteria and
fluid therethrough, said sheet having a fenestration therein, the
top surface of said sheet having at least one region wherein an
absorbent material is laminated thereto, said region being spaced
from the periphery of the fenestration and located on said drape at
a lower level than the fenestration when said drape is in use
covering a body or a portion thereof and located in the path of
flow of fluid from the surgical site at the fenestration across the
top surface of the drapable sheet.
3. A disposable drape comprising a first drapable sheet of
fiber-containing material resistant to the passage of bacteria and
fluid therethrough, said first sheet having a fenestration therein,
the top surface of said first sheet having a region which extends
to the periphery of the fenestration wherein an absorbent material
is laminated thereto, and a second sheet resistant to the passage
of fluid of dimensions less than the overall dimensions of said
region, said second sheet having a fenestration therein, said
second sheet being superimposed over and laminated to said region
with the fenestrations in said first and second sheets in
register.
4. A disposable drape for covering at least a portion of a
patient's body, comprising:
a main sheet of fiber-containing material resistant to the passage
of bacteria and fluid therethrough. said sheet having a fluid
repellent, non-absorptive top surface facing away from the patient
when the drape is placed on the patient, a pair of end edges, a
pair of side edges connecting the end edges, and a
fenestration;
a fluid absorbent material secured to the top surface of said sheet
with at least a portion of the absorbent material being positioned
intermediate said fenestration and at least one of said side
edges.
5. The drape of claim 4 wherein said absorbent material surrounds
said fenestration.
6. The drape of claim 5 including a fluid repellent, non-absorptive
reinforcement sheet secured to the absorbent material and
surrounding the fenestration, said reinforcement sheet having a
fenestration and covering a portion of the absorbent material.
7. The drape of claim 4 wherein said absorbent material is recessed
from said fenestrations.
8. The drape of claim 4 wherein the absorbent material has an edge
surface along the peripheral edge of the fenestration of the main
sheet.
9. A disposable drape for covering at least a portion of a
patient's body, comprising:
a main sheet of fluid repellent, fiber-containing material having a
top surface facing away from the patient when the drape is placed
on the patient, a pair of end edges, a pair of side edges
connecting the end edges, and a fenestration;
a fluid absorbent material secured to the top surface of said
sheet, with at least a portion of the absorbent material being
positioned intermediate said fenestration and at least one of said
end edges.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to disposable apparel articles for covering
at least a portion of the body during a surgical or obstetrical
procedure, such as surgical drapes.
The use of surgical disposable drapes which are repellent and
impervious to the passage of water and blood therethrough has for
some time been recognized as desirable to provide a more efficient
barrier against bacterial penetration or migration during surgical
or obstetrical procedures, than is obtained with cloth drapes.
Widespread use of fluid repellent and impervious disposable drapes,
however, creates subsidiary problems attendant their use. Primary
among these problems is the "runoff" of blood and other fluids
during surgery onto the surgeon, other members of the operating
team, the floor, or the operating table.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a
disposable surgical drape which reduces, controls or eliminates
such undesirable fluid runoff.
A further object of this invention is to provide a disposable
surgical drape having a top surface area adjacent the surgical site
providing a path of fluid flow to another area of the drape for
collection of the fluid.
In accordance with this invention, the disposable surgical apparel
article is composed of a drapable sheet of material which is
resistant to the passage of bacteria therethrough. The sheet is
drapable so as to conform to the contours of the body of the
patient when it is positioned over the body to cover it during a
surgical or obstetrical operation. The top surface of the sheet,
i.e., the surface facing away from the patient, comprises a region
which is fluid repellent and non-absorptive to fluids. This region
may be resistant or impervious to the passage of fluid
therethrough. The region is located on the surface of the drape so
as to be adjacent to the surgical site when the drape covers the
body of the patient. The top surface of the sheet also has a region
which is capable of absorbing fluids. This absorptive region is
located adjacent the fluid repellent, non-absorptive region, and is
separated from the site of surgery by the fluid repellent,
non-absorptive region. The fluid absorptive region of the drape is
normally located at a lower level than said fluid repellent,
non-absorptive region when the drape is in use covering a body or
portion thereof. The fluid absorptive region is so located as to be
in the path of flow of fluid from the surgical site across the
repellent non-absorptive region.
In a preferred embodiment, the fluid repellent, non-absorptive
region is located within a central section of the drape. This
region is provided with a fenestration through which the surgeon
has access to the surgical site in those instances where the drape
is to cover all regions adjacent the site of the surgery.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While some of the more salient features, characteristics, objects,
and advantages of the present invention have been referred to
above, others will become apparent from the following disclosure
taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a drape according to the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of another embodiment of a dape constructed
according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is a section taken at 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a drape of this invention at the
fenestration therein showing the structure thereof at the
fenestration different from the structure shown in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drape constructed according to
the invention as employed during a surgical procedure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following drawings the same numerals are used to designate
like elements in the drapes. The numeral 10 designates generally a
surgical drape. The drape is comprised of a drapable main sheet 12,
having a generally rectangular shape common to many surgical drapes
in conventional use a pair of end edges 11a and 11b, and a pair of
side edges 13a and 13b connecting the end edges 11a and b. The
sheet 12 is resistant to the passage of bacteria therethrough and
is fluid repellent, and generally fluid nonabsorptive, and may be
resistant or impervious to penetration of fluid from one surface
thereof to the opposite surface thereof. The sheet 12 has a
fenestration 14 therein located substantially centrally between the
outer margins of the drape 10. It is through the fenestration 14
that a surgical or obstetrical procedure may be performed. A layer
of fluid absorbent material 16 is attached to the sheet 12 along
central portions of each of the longitudinal side edges of the
drape. At least a portion of the peripheral edge of each of the
layers 16 in FIG. 1 is located inwardly from the outer marginal
edges of the drape 10 and is spaced away from the periphery of the
opening 14.
There is thus provided on the top surface of the drape 10 shown in
FIG. 1 a region A which is fluid repellent and non-absorptive and a
region B which is fluid absorptive. Although the layer of fluid
absorptive material 16 may be porous and permit the passage of
fluid therethrough, the region B is repellent or impervious to
fluid by reason of the underlying section of sheet 12.
As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the fluid absorptive layer 16 is
located at a lower level than that portion of the fluid repellent,
non-absorptive layer 12 intermediate the fenestration 14 and the
absorptive layer 16 when the drape is in use covering a body or
portion thereof. The absorptive layers 16 are, furthermore, located
in the path of flow of fluid from the surgical site at the
fenestration 14 across the repellent sheet 12. In many instances of
surgery, the direction of fluid runoff from the surgical site is
toward the sides of the operating table 18. In these instances the
drape shown in FIG. 1 would be used, positioned as shown in FIG. 5
with the layers 16 of absorbent material attached to the sheet 12
between the periphery of the fenestration 14 and the longitudinal
edges of the drape 10.
The drape shown in FIG. 2 has a layer 16 of fluid absorbent
material forming a fluid absorptive region B completely surrounding
the fenestration 14. The peripheral edges 15 of the region which
are located inwardly from the outer marginal edges of the drape 10
are spaced from the periphery of the fenestration 14 and border a
fluid repellent, non-absorptive region A' to thus provide a fluid
absorptive region B juxtaposed to a fluid repellent region A', the
region B normally being located at a lower level than the region A'
when the drape is in use.
As more clearly shown in FIG. 3, the region A' comprises a sheet 20
of fluid repellent, non-absorptive material which may be the same
as sheet 12, having a fenestration therein in registration with the
fenestration 14 and attached to and covering a portion of the layer
16 immediately adjacent and surrounding the fenestration 14.
FIG. 4 is an illustration of an alternate structure of a drape in
the section surrounding the fenestration 14. In this instance the
absorbent material is recessed from the fenestrations, and the
drape 10 at the peripheral edge of the fenestration 14 consists of
a two-ply laminate of the sheets 12 and 20. The edge surface of the
fenestration 14 thus formed is fluid repellent and non-absorptive.
In comparison, the structure shown in FIG. 3 has an exposed edge
surface of the layer 16 along the peripheral edge of the
fenestration 14. The drape shown in FIG. 2, with either of the
structures at the fenestration 14 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, has the
advantage of greater protection against fluid runoff. Such drape
configurations are usable in a variety of surgical procedures.
Further, the multi-plies serve to reinforce the drape in the area
immediately adjacent to and surrounding the fenestration 14.
Within the scope of the invention, the absorbent layer 16 may be
composed of any absorbent material, fibrous or otherwise, and
includes textile fabrics, either woven or nonwoven, paper, and
porous cellular plastics, to give a few examples. Combinations of
these materials may be advantageously employed. The sheet 12 may be
composed of any material which in sheet form is resistant to the
passage of bacteria and is non-absorptive. Sheet 12 may be fluid
repellent or impervious. Sheets of plastic films which are drapable
and have the desired properties are thin sheets of polyvinyl
chloride film and polyolefin films, such as films of polyethylene
and polypropylene.
* * * * *