CA2682434A1

CA2682434A1 - Improved ostomy support garment

Info

Publication number: CA2682434A1
Application number: CA 2682434
Authority: CA
Inventors: Linda Labbe; Monique Chicoine; Michele Boulianne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-16
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2011-04-16

Abstract

An improved ostomy support garment in the form of a material inside which an attached pocket also made of material for receiving a medical bag attached to a stoma, said pocket allowing the support and the stability of said medicalbag as it increases in size as it is being filled, allowing said medical bag to exit said attached pocket through an opening, said opening located between the pocket and the front garment leg operture, said opening being possible through an incorporated rubber band, said medical bag being manually rolled with a tongue of material altogether attached on the near to skin side of the opening, said tongue avoids contact between said medical bag and user skin, hence, said medical bag position and support being comfortably secured under normal human activities or movement.

Description

Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved ostomy support garment having an inside pocket for receiving a medical bag fixed to a stoma, where the inside pocket has a lateral opening that allows the exit of the medical bag when medical bag extension capacity within the inside pocket is being reached, hence, providing support and stability of the bag during movement of the wearer. Comfort is also secured through a tongue that deploys simultaneously with the medical bag as the latter exit the inside pocket.

Related to surgery consequences that follow the treatment of several diseases which affect the gastro-intestinal or bladder systems, particularly the colon, the ileum or the urethra, a patient is in the obligation of having an abdominal stoma. Stoma is an artificial opening made through the skin, which allows human faeces or urine to exit the body.
Since such exit cannot be controlled at will and are therefore of necessity incontinent and the effluents or waste products of the body, which are conveyed through these organs, are discharged through the artificial orifice or opening and are collected in a collection bag.
Said bag is usually adhered to the skin by means of an adhesive wafer or plate having an inlet opening for accommodating the stoma. Such appliances may be two-piece or one-piece appliances. In both types of appliances, a body side member is attached to the wearer's abdomen, and a receiving member or bag is attached to the body side ostomy member for receiving exudates from the stoma. Said receiving member being attached releasably in case of a two-piece appliance. The present invention improves previously mentioned appliances by an inside pocket fixed directly to the garment, not to the patient, the pocket being opened at any side of garment leg operture, allowing the exit of medical bag if needed as it is being filled.

In the case of a colostomy and in case the ostomate is normally irrigating, a minor cap or collecting bag may be used which enables the use of a firm support belt or tight compression briefs for providing a sufficient pressure around the stoma. For ileostomates or urostomates this procedure is not practicable due to the constant rather high output from the ileum or bladder and for urostomates it may be critical to provide a free flow from the stoma in order to prevent a build-up of a backpressure, which may destroy the kidneys.

In such cases, it is highly desirable or mandatory to give access to a larger collecting volume, which means that the collecting bag itself will have to be situated outside the pressure establishing belt or briefs and that a passageway through the same has to be established. The side opening of the inside pocket corrects this limitation.

Determination of the site for placing the stoma is normally carried out prior to the operation after observing the patient in different postures, e.g. sitting, standing and bending over, finding the less critical area. WO 00/67683 discloses a device for use in the determination of the optimum position of a stoma-to-be for the patient in question.
As the placing of a stoma is not standardised but depends on the condition and the topography of the abdominal area of the patient, it is not possible to provide a simple selection of standard bulge or hernia supports fitting the majority of patients. The passageways must be tailored according to the actual conditions of the individual patient.

2. Description of Prior Art Several U.S. patents mention the presence and use of an inside pocket to hold medical bag within the garment. For instance, U.S. Patent No. 4,495,662 discloses a nighttime garment to be worn by a person for concealing an ostomy pouch used by the person, the garment includes an inner pocket to receive a medical bag. U.S. Patent No.
4,888,006 discloses an ostomy garment that incorporates a retaining pocket and closure device. U. S.
Patent No. 5,142,702 discloses a garment that has an interior pocket for holding an ostomy appliance. U. S. Patent No. 6,110,156 discloses a garment for an ostomy bag having a layer of pocket material for securing the bag to the pocket. Finally, U. S. Patent No. 6,202,222 discloses a garment that incorporates a hidden pocket which surrounds and supports the connected flange of an appliance and contains the appliance pouch in an inner pocket apart from user's abdominal skin. Othe patents such as U.S.
Patents No.
4,533,355 or 5,135,520 or 7,313,832 or 7,421,743 or 7,458,958 disclose ostomy garment not having inside pocket at all.

In all these patents, none of them describe opened inside pocket or the presence of a material tongue that allows the exit of medical whenever needed, that does not touch the skin of the user once extended out from the inside pocket, the tongue preventing such contact between bag and skin. In those aspects, the present invention represents an innovative improvement of ostomy garments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved ostomy support garment having an inside pocket for receiving a bag fixed to a stoma, said inside pocket having the capability to open laterally as medical bag deploys over inside pocket capacity, the medical bag being previously rolled with a material tongue that exits the inside pocket with the bag, the tongue preventing the bag to touch user's skin.

The present invention allows to a patient to wear a garment adapted to situations where medical bag is being filled over the retaining capacity of the inside pocket.
When such situation occurs, the medical bag stretches, deploys and exits the inside pocket at the same time than the tongue deploys as well. The exit of the medical bag is allowed through a side opening located between the elastic rubber band that surrounds the leg operture and the inside pocket. Side openings, both right and left, are delimited by a rubber band as well. The exit is allowed only when the medical bag reaches a size that is over the size capacity of the inside pocket. Otherwise, the medical bag stays inside the pocket. Furthermore, the medical bag exits the inside pocket simultaneously with the material tongue, an integrated part of the garment used to prevent the medical bag to touch wearer's skin at all time. To secure the simultaneous deployment of the bag and the tongue, both are enroled when the medical bag is bran new and fixed to the stoma by the patient.

The present invention allows the wear of an ostomy garment by a patient, which prevents at all time the medical bag to touch his skin even when the bag is at its maximum lenght.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention in the form of a garment worn by a user, with the tongue being deployed. The tongue is attached permanently to the garment. The inside pocket upper limit is shown with a dashed line while the side openings are shown with dotted lines.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention with the medical bag attached to the stoma, both being hidden because they are located inside the garment, said medical bag partly deployed from outside the interior pocket through the left opening, touching the tongue, hence, protecting user's skin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is now explained more in details with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments of the invention.

Reference is made to FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of an ostomy support garment of the invention in the form of standard underwear.

The patient who wears a stoma first attaches a medical bag to it, as needed.
The size of bag depends upon stoma dimensions and properties. The type of bag depends upon its utilization. Once the medical bag properly fixed to the stoma, the patient slips on the ostomy garment (1), streching the elastic rubber ban (2) at will as needed.
Then, the patient introduces the medical bag (not showed) into the inside pocket (3);
the material tongue (5) is normally folded into the inside pocket. So the patient deploys the medical bag over the tongue, in a parallel fashion. Then, the patient rolls, or folds, both the bag and the tongue, altogether, such that the end of folded assembly is placed toward the nearest garment side opening (4). The folding and wear procedure is then over.
Reference is made to FIG. 2 showing an embodiment of an ostomy garment garment of the invention in the form of standard underwear.

The figure shows, in a hidden fashion, the stoma (6) and the medical bag (7) fixed to it, the latter being partially deployed through the left opening (8), the tongue being deployed as well, hence showing how the tongue prevents the medical from touching wearer's skin. The shows the tongue deployed over the left leg with the medical bag over it. The entire procedure is renewed after each medical bag replacement.

The invention is particularly useful for nighttime application, for unusually long wearing time periods or any other situation where the patient cannot change his medical bag. The garment secures from undesired displacement of the bag, whatever the activity undertaken by the patient, and prevent at all time the bag to touch his skin, source of discomfort.

No matter the patient's measurents are or his gender or the season of the year, the improved garment is used to prevent discomfort to whom suffers from the consequences of an ostomy.

This invention combines the characteristics of the ostomy garment issued from the prior art and the innovation corresponding to the free deployment of the ostomy medical bag whenever needed, whatever circumstances require it, and simultaneously preventing the bag from touching skin of the wearer.

Hence, a person who suffers from the consequences of an ostomy surgery, whatever if these circumstances are temporary or permanent, can not longer suffer furthermore by the discomfort of having to change the medical bag once its deployment reaches the inside pocket capacity, or by the discomfort of feeling the bag material over his skin.

That what's make this invention innovative, thus, represents a significative improvement of the garments issued from the prior art.

Claims

1. An improved ostomy support garment comprising an inside pocket of material fabricated to receive any standard medical bag fixed to a stoma, said pocked being against a wearer's skin to provide support and stability of the bag, said bag being free to increase in size as being filled with human faeces or urine through the stoma, said inside pocket having the property to hold and maintain bag securely as the bearer moves while wearing the garment, said garment allowing medical bag to stretch at will and hence, exiting the inside pocket through a lateral opening made between the inside pocket and the leg operture of garment, said operture being possible through a rubber band closing and opening as the medical bag increases in size, said medical bag exits from inside pocket by gravity at the same time as a tongue of material secures the medical from touching the wearer's skin, said inside pocket and tongue being parts of garment, said garment being made for humans, males or females of any any age and any height and weight, said garment made also for all seasons

2. The garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein the garment, the inside pocket and the tongue attached altogether are made of any type of material suitable for human beings such as cotton, wool, nylon, polyesther or any combinaison of there latters, as long as the said material is being treated for organic fluids and allows free displacement of air and perspiration through it.

3. The garment as set forth in claim 2, wherein the inside pocket and/or tongue are held to the said garment through stitches, sewing, hook-and-loop fasteners, adhesive or any other suitable meanings that properly secure the said inside pocket and tongue to the garment without provoquing wearing discomfort.

4 The garment as set forth in claim 2, wherein the inside pocket and/or tongue are extensive and adaptable to any size of medical bag.

5. The garment as set forth in claim 2, wherein the inside pocket can be located anywhere within the garment as to adapt to the stoma position on a body.

6. The garment as set forth in claims 1 and/or 2 has an opening at the bottom to allow sexual intercourse while wearing it.

7. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said garment can be of any size, being worn between the middle of the trunk and above the knees and able to contain the inside pocket anywhere within these limits.

8. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said garment alows the exit of the medical bag as it is being fille with human faeces or urine through an opening that is partially closed by a rubber band, said opening and rubber band being extensive such that both allow the medical bag to exit and deploys with the tongue whenever this occurence is needed.

9. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said inside pocket and togue have dimensions that are being adapted to the medical bag, itself being adapted to the stoma.

10. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said garment is used for holding the said inside poket, itself being the support to the medical bag, and wherein the said garment is being simultenously used as ordinary daily underwear.

11. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said garment can be worn with any other type of underwear, belt, support and/or other type of garment.

12. The garment as set forth in claim 6, wherein the said garment has no style limitations, such as G-string, Tiki, bachelor flat or any other aesthetically designs.

13. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the said garment including inside pocket and tongue can be of any color, white and/or black, as long as the said color is not from an origine that causes allergy or any other skin reaction disorder.

14. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the said garment, inside pocket and tongue can be adorned with any type of embellishment such as lace or embroidery.

15. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the said garment is suitable for permanent or temporary stoma.

16. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the said garment, inside pocket and tongue are disposable or washable.

17. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the garment bears extensible material such as rubber band at the belt and legs to prevent the inside pocket and tongue from exit out from the said garment.

18. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the said garment is able to hold the medical bag as well as a sanitary towel altogether.

19. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the operture that allows the exit from the inside pocket is located at the right side, or left side or both.

20. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the tongue, wherever located, is of any width or lenght as long as it accomodates the passage of the medical bag and avoids the latter to touch the skin of the garment bearer.

21. The garment as set forth in claim 12, wherein the closing of the operture is such that an extensible mechanism allows the operture opening when the medical bag reach maximum extension within inside pocket allowance.