Surgeon's Gown With Cummerbund

Abstract

A back-opening surgeon's gown having a water resistant panel attached to one vertical edge of the gown and adapted to wrap around the front of the user's body, covering the gown from chest level to just below the waist, the free end of the panel having a removable tab for use in positioning it, and suitable fastening means, such as an adhesive strip.

Description

This invention relates to surgeons' operating gowns and, more particularly, to a surgeon's operating gown incorporating improved moisture repellent means attached to one edge of the gown and designed also to cover the front end, to some extent, the sides of the gown.

Before performing a surgical operation, the surgeon, after thorough sterilization of his hands and arms, is assisted into a sterilized garment known as a surgical gown. This gown is made to completely cover the surgeon both front and back and is made so as to be completely closed in the back, and is secured on the surgeon by tape ties on the back panels overlapped at the back of the gown. The gown has previously been sterilized, and is designed to protect the surgeon's hands and arms, front and back, against any possibility of infection from the surgeon to the patient. To complete his attire, the surgeon then usually dons a pair of sanitized rubber gloves, again with assistance.

For comfort during the operation, it is desirable that the gown be as light in weight as possible. At the same time, however, it is desirable that the gown, or at least the major part of its front portion thereof, from chest level to below the waist, be made water resistant, to protect the surgeon and his clothing against soiling by blood, plasma, serums, and other liquids. Gowns with provision for moisture-proofing are shown in Tames U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,172 (a moisture-proof sheet underlying the front panel) and Belkin U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,285 (hydrophobic f1nish on cotton cloth). The gown shown herein has characteristics corresponding in some respects to the gown shown in Grosz U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,767 which, however, uses more material and is not stated to be water resistant.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a front view of the gown, flattened out in a vertical plane to show the relation and interconnection of the several parts;

FIG. 2 represents a rear view of the gown as it is being donned;

FIG. 3 represents a front view of the gown on a wearer, in fully donned position;

FIG. 4 represents a detail perspective view of the added panel, as fan-folded prior to use, and

FIG. 5 represents a section on the line V--V of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the gown 10 is shown as being provided with a water resistant panel 11. The gown is back opening, in the usual manner, having sleeves 12 and waist ties 13, 14, the tie 13 being attached to one vertical edge 15 and the tie 14 being attached to the interior of the side 17 of the gown at a substantial distance (e.g., 18 - 20 inches) from the other vertical edge 16. The gown may desirably be made of a light-weight, sterilizable, disposable non-woven material, such as that sold by DuPont under the trademark "Tyvek". While this material is normally water impermeable, it is "breathable" and there is some danger of strike-through by fluids likely to be encountered in the course of a surgical operation, making it advisable to provide additional protection throughout the most vulnerable area.

Such additional protection is obtained by the use of the rectangular panel 11 of strong plastic sheeting, such as vinyl or polyethylene, having one of its short ends 18 secured, as by cementing, to the edge 16 of the gown, at a height corresponding to the wearer's mid-section. A band of adhesive material 19 is applied to the surface of the panel 11 adjacent its upper edge 20 and a similar band of adhesive 21 may be applied to the surface of the panel adjacent the free end 18' of the panel. The adhesive bands 19, 21 may be covered by removable protective strips (not shown) prior to use, or, preferably, the band 19 may be utilized to hold the panel 11 in fan-folded position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, prior to use, the adhesive being readily releasable from itself. At the upper corner of the panel 11 (intersection of edge 20 and end 18) there is attached a removable tab 22 of paper or cardboard to be grasped by the surgeon's assistant in the course of donning the gown, as explained below.

In use, the surgeon scrubs up in the usual manner, opens the sterile folded gown and puts it on with the opening in back. The ties 23 at the neck are fastened and the user, or an assistant, then fastens together the ties 13, 14 which draws the edge 15 of the gown a substantial distance inside the portion bounded by the edge 16. At this point an assistant, such as a circulating nurse, grasps the tab 22, pulls it to unfold the folded panel 11, removes the coverings (if any) from the adhesive bands 19 and/or 21, and wraps the panel around the side and front of the user. The panel 11 is of a length sufficient to cover the user's front mid-section and to terminate on each side approximately below the right and left arms. The adhesive bands are drawn against the front and side of the gown as the panel is wrapped around, and the tab 22 is torn off when the wrapping has been completed.

Complete sterility of all exposed surfaces is assured, because the only portions of the gown which might have been violated during donning are the ties 13, 14, the interior of the side 17 and the tab 22. The side 17 overlaps the other side by the distance from edge 16 to the tie 14, covering completely all possibly non-sterile surfaces, and the tab 22 is torn off and discarded when the wrapping has been completed.

The gown as described, with its additional water resistant panel (in the nature of a "cummerbund") eliminates a separate belt, eliminates the possibility of gaping in the back, prevents strike-through by blood and the like in the mid-section area, has no tie in front, and represents a very efficient use of materials without any excess of gown material or panel material.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A back-opening surgeon's gown having first and second vertical back edges, a waist tie secured to the first edge, a second waist tie secured to the interior of the gown at a substantial distance from the second edge, a panel of water resistant material having right and left ends one of said ends being secured to the second edge at mid-section height, and means on the other of said ends for removably affixing said other end to the outer surface of the gown, the length of said panel from end to end being sufficient to cover the user's mid-section from side to side.

2. A surgeon's gown according to claim 1 wherein the affixing means comprises a strip of adhesive adjacent one edge of the panel.

3. A surgeon's gown according to claim 1 wherein the affixing means comprises strips of adhesive adjacent one edge and one end of the panel.

4. A surgeon's gown according to claim 1 which includes a grasping tab removably attached to said other end of the panel.

5. A surgical gown according to claim 1 in which the gown is of a non-woven material and the panel is a fluid-impervious plastic.

6. A surgical gown according to claim 1 wherein the panel is rectangular and is secured at one of its short edges to the edge of the gown.

7. A surgical gown according to claim 4 wherein the panel is fan-folded initially adjacent to said second edge, the tab being adapted to serve as a handle for unfolding the panel.

8. A surgical gown according to claim 7 wherein the panel is held in fan-folded position by a releasable adhesive.

9. A back-opening surgical gown having first and second vertical free rear edges, a waist-high tie attached to the first rear edge, another waist-high tie attached to the interior of the gown at a substantial distance from the second rear edge, whereby the fastening together of said ties can hold said second rear edge and adjacent areas of the gown in overlapping relation to said first rear edge and areas of the gown adjacent said first rear edge, a sheet of fluid-impervious material secured at one vertical edge to the second rear edge of the gown and self-activating means for attaching an opposite vertical edge of said sheet to the outer surface of the gown, said sheet being long enough to extend from side to side of the gown and having a vertical dimension such that it can cover the front mid-section of the gown from approximately chest height to below the waist.