GB2121689A

GB2121689A - Surgical sponge

Info

Publication number: GB2121689A
Application number: GB08313612A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Lyle Jessup
Original assignee: Kendall Co
Current assignee: Kendall Co
Priority date: 1982-05-19
Filing date: 1983-05-17
Publication date: 1984-01-04
Also published as: BR8302465A; FR2527074B1; JPH0344779B2; DE3317667A1; GB2121689B; AU1454483A; ES284870U; ZA833220B; DE3317667C2; FR2527074A1; AU562994B2; BE896776A; IT8348325A0; MX157970A; GB8313612D0; JPS58212437A; AR229457A1; ES284870Y; IT1168875B; CA1249122A

Abstract

A surgical sponge comprising a sheet of absorbent material has an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising a pair of elongated twisted strands. One of the strands has a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet, and the other of said strands has a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood.

Description

SPECIFICATION Surgical sponge The present invention relates to absorbent articles, and more particularly to surgical sponges.

Surgical sponges are commonly used during surgical procedures to absorb body fluids of the patient both inside the incision and around the site of surgery. Sponges of this nature are usually made of an open-meshed absorbent fabric, such as woven cotton.

It is important, of course, that all of such sponges be removed from the patient's body after surgery is complete and before the incision has been closed. Accordingly, it is a standard procedure for the surgical team to carefully count the sponges both before placement in the incision and afer removal from the incision to reduce the possibility that a sponge may be left in the patient.

In spite of such safety measures, sponges have been occasionally lost, particularly when an unexpected emergency disrupted the normat operative routine such as counting, which is subject to human error. When saturated by body fluids, such as blood, the sponges become significantly reduced in size and assume a colour the same as some types of body tissue, thus making visual detection of the sponges extremely difficult. As a result, it has been required to provide the sponges with a flexible insert which is opaque to X-rays. In case of a disputed or nontallying sponge count in the operating room, or in case of unexpected or unexplainable post-operative discomfort on the part of the patient, a portable X-ray unit is brought to the patient and an X-ray exposure should reveal the presence or absence of a lost sponge.A negative plate should be reassurance to the surgeon that he and his operative team have not left a sponge in the patient.

Nevertheless, it is desirable that the patient be provided additional assurance a sponge does not remain in his body, and that the number of instances an X-ray is necessary be minimized, whether or not additional surgery would ultimately be required to remove a lost sponge.

A principal feature of the present invention is the provision of a surgical sponge of simplified construction which tends to reduce mishaps in reclaiming sponges from a patient's body.

The sponge of the present invention comprises, a sheet of absorbent material.

In one form of the invention the sponge has an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising a pair of elongated twisted strands. One of the strands has a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet, and the other of the strands has a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood.

According to the present invention a surgical sponge comprises a sheet of absorbent material affording visual detection means one element of which has a colour, e.g. blue or green, which contrasts with the colour of the said sheet and another element of which has a colour, e.g. white which contrasts with the colour of blood.

In one form of the invention a surgical sponge comprises a sheet of absorbent material and visual detection means comprising an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising a pair of elongated strands twisted about each other, one of the said strands having a colour which contrasts with the colour of the said sheet to facilitate visual inspection of the element prior to the use of the sponge, and the other of the said strands having a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood to significantly increase the visibility of the sponge in a patient's body when saturated by body fluids.

In another form of the invention a surgical sponge comprises a sheet of absorbent material and visual detection means comprising an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising first and second longitudinally extending integral parts, the element preferably being twisted the said first part having a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet to faciliate visual inspection of the element prior to use of the sponge, and the said second part having a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood to significantly increase the visibility of the sponge in a patient's body when saturated by body fluids.

The said sheet preferably comprises a multiply open mesh material, e.g. washed gauze.

The visual detection means is preferably bonded to an inner surface of an outer layer of the said sheet.

The visual detection means may comprise polyvinyl chloride.

The visual detection means may in addition or instead comprise radio-opaque material.

Thus the visual detection means may be impregnated with a radio-opaque material, or the sponge may include a preferably elongated radio-opaque element.

The colours of the said elements, strands or parts are preferably blue and white, or green and white.

The invention also extends to apparatus for forming a surgical sponge in accordance with the invention.

The visual detection means are preferably formed of thermoplastic material and the apparatus affords heating means which are used to secure the visual detection means to the absorbent material.

The visual detection means may comprise different coloured strands, and the apparatus may include means for extruding the said strands.

In one form of the invention the elongated visually detectable element is made from a pair of different coloured strands on a sheet of absorbent material, and the apparatus comprises means for twisting the said strands together into the elongated element, and means for placing the element on the said sheet. The apparatus preferably also includes means for bonding the visual detection means to the sheet.

In another form of the invention the visual detection means are an integral strip having two colours and the apparatus includes an extruder provided to extrude the strip as part of the apparatus.

The apparatus preferably includes means for twisting the said strands together or twisting the integral strip to form a twisted elongated element.

The twisting means preferably comprise a rotating guide having a pair of clips biased together, the said visual detection means passing between the said clips.

The apparatus preferably also includes means for folding the sheet into a configuration with the visual detection means located on an inner surface of an outer layer of the sheet.

A feature of the present invention is that the one strand enhances visibility of the element during counting of the sponges prior to placement in an incision in order to verify that the elements are in fact located on the sponges.

Another feature of the invention is that the other strand significantly increases the visibility of the sponge in a patient's body when saturated by body fluids.

Thus, a feature of the present invention is that the element minimizes the possibility that the sponge may be left in a patient's body during an operation.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an apparatus to form the visually detectable element on the sheet.

The invention may be put into practice in various ways and two specific embodiments and various modifications thereof will be described to illustrate the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an apparatus adapted to form a surgical sponge according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale illustrating a rotating guide wheel in the apparatus of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the surgical sponge of the present invention; and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to Fig. 3, there is shown a surgical sponge generally designated 10 com prising a sheet 12 of an absorbent material, e.g. a low-count open-mesh gauze or washed gauze fabric, such as woven cotton. The sheet 12 has a plurality of folds defining a multiple ply configuration of the sponge 10.

The sponge 10 has an elongated visually detectable element 14 comprising a pair of twisted strands 16 and 18 which have different colours. One of the strands 16 has a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet 12, and the other of the strands 18 has a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood for a purpose which will be described below. The strand 16 is blue (or in a modification green), and the other strand 18 is white.

The strands 16 and 18 are constructed from polyvinyl chloride as a blood repellent material. The element 14 is heat-bonded to an inner surface of an outer layer 20 of the folded sheet 12 such that the element 14 is visible through the open-mesh sheet 12, thus reducing the possibility of scratching of delicate body tissue by the element 14. The strands 16 and 18 are not radio-opaque, and the sponge 10 has a separate radio-opaque element 22 located in the folded sheet 12, the element 22 being made radio-opaque by impregnation with barium sulphate.

In one modification of this embodiment the strands 16 and 18 are not made of blood repellant mateerial; in an other the element 14 is bonded to an outer surface to give greater visibility; in an other the strands 16 and 18 are impregnated with barium sulphate in order to make the strands 16 and 18 themselves radio-opaque.

A A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 4, in which like reference numerals designate like parts. In this embodiment, the element 14 has a first longitudinal part 50 of a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sponge, such as green or blue, and an integral second longitudinal part 52 of a colour which contrasts with the colour of bloods, such as white. The parts 50 and 52 of the element 4 are coextruded from an extruder 54. The element 14 as shown in Fig. 4 is attached directly to the sponge.

In a modification (see Fig. 5) the element is twisted to give a barber pole effect.

Apparatus 23 for forming the visually detectable element 14 on the sheet 12 is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. For use in producing the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the alparatus 23 has a source 24 of the first strands 16, such as a bin, and a source 26 of the other strand 18, such as a bin. The strands 16 and 18 are removed from the sources 24 and 26, respectively, and are passed through a central opening 28 in a rotating guide wheel 30. The guide wheel 30 is driven by a suitable motor 32 and an intermediate rotatable wheel 34 which is driven by the motor 32.

As shown in detail in Fig. 2, the guide wheel 30 has a pair of spring clips 36 and 38 which are biased together on either side of the opening 28. As shown, after the strands 16 and 18 pass through the opening 28, the strands 16 and 18 are frictionally and slidably received between the clips 36 and 38 and rotation of the wheel 30 thus twists the strands 16 and 18 about each other to form the element 14.

The sheet 12 is passed over a rotatable wheel 40, and then between a rotatable anvil wheel 42 and a rotatable bonding wheel 44 which pull the sheet 12 around the wheel 40 and then between the wheels 42 and 44. The anvil wheel 42 is driven and heated by a suitable device such as a motor 46. The bonding wheel 44 is driven and heated by a suitable device such as a motor and heating device 48. Thus, the sheet 12 is moved between the wheels 42 and 44 in a direction as indicated by the arrow 50 in the drawings.

The twisted strands 16 and 18 are passed from the guide wheel 30, and are placed against the sheet 12 on the wheel 40. The twisted strands 16 and 18 comprising the element 14 and the sheet 12 are then passed through the wheels 42 and 44 where the wheel 44 heats the element 14, and bonds the element 14 to one surface of the sheet 12, after which the element 14 passes with the sheet 12 from the wheels 42 and 44.

Finally, the sheet 12 with the element 14 is cut and folded into the configuration of the surgical sponge 10 previously described in connection with Fig. 3.

In an alternative embodiment the bins 24 and 26 are replaced by extruders 17 and 19 (also shown in Fig. 1) so that the strands 16 and 18 instead of being preformed are extruded on the spot and then passed to the wheel 30.

The second embodiment in which the coloured elements are integral parts of a single extruded element is made by feeding the element 14 directly to the wheel 40 and 42 of Fig. 1, thus bypassing the guide wheel 30.

The alternative barber pole form of the second embodiment is made by passing the integral element 14 through the wheel 30 so that it is twisted before being passed to the wheels 40 and 42.

In use, a number of the surgical sponges 10 are supplied to the personnel in an operating room for use during surgery. One of the persons on the operating team counts the sponges before placement in an incision, and also verifies that an element 14 is correctly in place on each sponge 10. In this regard, the one strand 16 with the colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet 12 facilitates inspection of the existence of the elements 14 on the sponges 10. After counting of the sponges and inspection of the elements 14, the sponges 10 are placed in an incision in a patient's body during surgery. After surgery has been completed, the sponges 10 are removed from the incision, and the second strand 18 having a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood significantly enhances visibility of the sponges 10 in the incision in order to minimize the possibility that one of the sponges 10 may be left in the patient's body after surgery has been completed and the incision is closed.

Claims

1. A surgical sponge comprising a sheet of absorbent material affording visual detection means one element of which has a colour which contrasts with the colour of the said sheet and another element of which has a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood.

2. A surgical sponge comprising a sheet of absorbent material and visual detection means comprising an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising a pair of elongated strands twisted about each other, one of the said strands having a colour which contrasts with the colour of the said sheet to factilitate visual inspection of the element prior to the use of the sponge, and the other of the said strands having a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood to significantly increase the visibility of the sponge in a patient's body when saturated by body fluids.

3. A surgical sponge comprising a sheet of absorbent material and visual detection means comprising an elongated visually detectable element at a visible location on the sheet comprising first and second longitudinally extending integral parts, the said first part having a colour which contrasts with the colour of the sheet to facilitate visual inspection of the element prior to use of the sponge, and the said second part having a colour which contrasts with the colour of blood to significantly increase the visibility of the sponge in a patient's body when saturated by body fluids.

4. A sponge as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the said sheet comprises a multi-ply open mesh material.

5. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 in which the visual detection means is bonded to an inner surface of an outer layer of the said sheet.

6. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 in which the visual detection means comprises polyvinyl chloride.

7. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 in which the visual detection means comprises radio-opaque material.

8. A sponge as claimed in Claim 7 in which the visual detection means is impregenated with a radio-opaque material.

9. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8 including a radio-opque element in the sponge.

10. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 in which the colour contrasting with the sheet is blue or green.

11. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 in which the colour contrasting with blood is white.

12. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11 in which the colours of the said elements, strands or parts are blue and white.

13. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11 in whch the colours of the said elements, strands or parts are green and white.

14. A sponge as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13 in which the said absorbent material comprises washed gauze.

15. A sponge as claimed in Claim 3 or any of Claims 4 to 14 when appendant to Claim 3 in which the said element is twisted.

16. A sponge as claimed in Claim 1 substantially as specifically described herein with reference to Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 or Figs. 3 and 4.

17. Apparatus for forming a surgical sponge as claimed in Claim 1.

18. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17 in which the visual detection means are formed of thermoplastic material and heating means are used to secure the visual detection means to the absorbent material.

19. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17 or Claim 18 in which the visual detection means comprise different coloured strands.

20. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 19 including means for extruding the said strands.

21. Apparatus for forming an elongated visually detectable element from a pair of different coloured strands on a sheet of absorbent material, comprising means for twisting the said strands together, into the elongated element, and means for placing the element on the said sheet.

22. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 21 including means for bonding the visual detection means to the sheet.

23. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17 or Claim 18 in which the visual detection means are an integral strip having two colours and an extruder is provided to extrude the strip as part of the apparatus.

24. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 19, 20, 21 or 22 in which means are provided for twisting the said strands together or twisting the integral strip to form a twisted elongated element.

23. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 24 in which the twisting means comprises a rotating guide having a pair of clips biased together, the said visual detection means passing between the said clips.

26. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 17 to 25 including means for folding the sheet into a configuration with the visual detection means located on an inner surface of an outer layer of the sheet.

27. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 17 substantially as specifically described herein with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 or Figs. 1 2 and 4.