GB2137501A

GB2137501A - Device for protection of a wound

Info

Publication number: GB2137501A
Application number: GB08312335A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Leslie Steer
Original assignee: Craig Medical Products Ltd
Current assignee: Craig Medical Products Ltd
Priority date: 1983-02-25
Filing date: 1983-05-05
Publication date: 1984-10-10
Also published as: GB2137501B; GB8312335D0

Abstract

A device for wound management permits the application of an apertured pad to the wound and involves the provision of a protective compartment, optionally drained, whose interior is open to the wound and which is normally sealed closed but which can be opened if desired. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for protecting a wound This invention relates to a device for protecting a wound while allowing itto drain.

It has been proposed to provide a cover over a wound and one example of such a proposal is that by WESTABY and EVERITT in British Patent No.

1549756 Such a device is appropriate to a wound of a specific size, or a specific range of sizes, and hence a hospital is obliged to hold a stock of devices to cater for different patients. Also, there are grave difficulties in arranging for continuous drainage of wounds, e.g. resulting from surgery, which are so protected.

According to the invention in its broadest aspect there is provided a device for wound management which permits the application of an apertured pad to the wound and involves the provision of a protective compartment, optionally drained, whose interior is open to the wound and which is normally sealed closed but which can be opened if desired.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for protecting a wound comprising a pad of skin-protective and skin-curative adhesive adhesive material to which is secured a foldable sheet of liquid-impermeable material of larger area than the pad, marginal areas of the said sheet being provided with a sealing means, e.g. a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and the sheet being located and dimensioned so that the sheeth when folded over on itself is sealed in liquid-tight fashion around its edges to define a compartment.

In use of such a device, an aperture is cut in the pad (and consequently through the adjacent portion of the sheet) of such a size as to be slightly larger than the wound, and the pad is applied so that the area surrounding the cut-out aperture adheres to that portion of the patient's skin which surrounds the wound, and the sheet is folded over on itself and sealed around the edges. A drain tube may be connected so that it is in communication with the interior of the compartment defined by the sheet which overlies and protects the wound.

The sealing means whereby the edges or marginal portions of the sheet are secured together may take any suitable form, e.g. the sheet may be a plastics material and its edge regions may be shaped or moulded to provide a "pop-in" rib and groove seal.

To provide a labyrinthine type of seal at the edges, a multiple rib and groove arrangement may be adopted. In another arrangement, the sheet may be made of a foil material such as aluminium and the superposed edge regions rolled or folded together to provide a liquid seal. As another alternative, the sheet may be plastics but may have its edge regions laminated with metal foil so that a manual folding or rolling of the superposed edge regions can accomplish the desired sealing.

One important advantage of such a device is that the cut-out can be made manually by hospital staff, e.g. with scissors, of a size to be appropriate to any particular wound and the sheet folded over, once the device is applied, to define a compartment whose interior is open to the wound and which receives any discharge from the wound. Wound management using such a device becomes more comfortable for the patient and a less labour-intensive task for nursing staff.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for protecting a wound compris ing a pad of skin-protective and skin-curative adhesive material which is secured to a sheet of liquid impermeable material which constitutes one wall of a compartment, the said compartment being defined by the said wall and a container which makes a peripheral seal with the edge region of said wall. In use, an aperture of a size appropriate to the wound is cut through the pad and the sheet, and the container is then sealed to the marginal region of the sheet to define a compartment for receiving discharge from the wound. A drain may be connected to the container, and the compartment may be shaped so that in its usual position when being worn by a patient, any discharge runs under gravity to a lower region to which is attached a drain tube.

The seal between the container and the said sheet may be of any convenient form. it could e.g. be based upon any of the designs of coupling disclosed (in an entirely different context) in British Patents Nos. 1 571 657, 1 568860, 1 583 027, 1 586 023 and 1 586 024.

The invention will be better understood from the following particular description of illustrative embodiments, given by way of example and not of limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one example of device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section, with thicknesses exaggerated for clarity, on line A - A of Figure 1 illustrating a cutout; Figure 3 is a view showing the device in place on a patient; Figure 4 is a side elevation of a second example of device according to the invention; and Figure 5 is a cross-section of the device shown in Figure 4 seen in position on a patient.

Reference has been made in the above to a pad of skin-protective and skin-curative adhesive material.

An excellent material for use as such a pad is that sold by E.R. Squibb and Sons Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A. and their subsidiary companies under the Trade Name DUODERM.

Referring firstly to Figures 1-3, a device for protecting a wound comprises a pad 10 secured to a foldable sheet 12. The pad 10 is a pad of skinprotective and skin-curative adhesive material; various manufacturers market such material and an excellent one for use as the pad 10 is that sold under the trade name DuoDERM, as mentioned above. The pad 10 and the sheet 1 are secured together in any suitable manner. the sheet 12 has a larger area than the pad 10 and is foldable. the marginal regions 14 of the sheet 12 carry a pressure sensitive adhesive 16 which is covered by a protective layer 18. It will be seen from Figure 1 that when the protective strips 18 are removed and the two parts of the sheet 12 folded together with pressure applied round the edges that the sheet defines an enclosed compartment.

When a device according to the invention is to be used, an aperture 20 is cut out of the pad and the adjacent portion of the sheet. This aperture may be cut out with scissors. The aperture is of a size chosen to be slightly larger than the wound under consideration. One surface 22 of the pad 10 is then placed into contact with the patient on the area of skin surrounding the wound, and while this is not essential, it is convenient for this to be done before the two parts of the sheet are secured together around their marginal regions. It is then possible to use the aperture 20 to properly locate the device on the wound.

1. An optional feature of the invention is ill ustrated. A drainage tube 24 is connected to the rim of a suitable hole 26 in the sheet 12 and a suitable tube coupling 28 is fixed to the distal end of the tube 24. A stopper 30 connected to a plastics strip 32 integral with the coupling 28 permits the bottom end of the coupling to be closed off.

It will be realised that the device disclosed and illustrated is easily applied by nursing staff to a patient, and readily be opened and closed to allow close visual examination of the wound, and permits any discharge from the wound to be drained. In addition, one size of device can be used for wounds of a wide range of dimensions.

Another embodiment of the invention, incorporating similar principles, is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings. The device for wound management illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 comprises a pad 50 of skin-protective and skincurative adhesive material which is fixed to a flat sheet of liquid-impermeable material of larger area than the pad. The sheet is indicated at 52. The sheet 52 is formed to define a marginal groove which extends completely around the periphery of the sheet 52. The marginal groove is constructed to snugly receive the edge of a container 54. In a preferred version of the invention, the sheet 52 and container 54 are of synthetic plastics material and the groove is constructed so that its width at entry is somewhat less than its width at deeper regions.With a a synthetic plastics material of suitable resilience, a liquid-tight fit can be readily achieved between the sheet 52 and the container 54. As an alternative, a "tupperware" type of seal may be employed.

An optional feature of the invention is that a drainage pipe 56 is connected to the container 54, so that any discharge from the wound can be drained from the interior of the compartment defined by the sheet 52 and the container 54.

Figure 5 illustrates the device in position on the body 56 of a patient, the open part of the wound being illustrated at 58. For clarity, the height of the pad is exaggerated; in a practical embodiment the pad 50 will be of a thickness between about 1/10th amd 1 half an inch, i.e. about 2.5 to 13 mm. While a snap fit groove construction has been disclosed for connecting the container 54 and the sheet 52, it will be appreciated that other known forms of sealing could be employed.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, there could be included an external peripheral zip fastener (sliding clasp fastner) to fasten the two sheets 12 together. It could be located outside the strip 14.

According to a modification of the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the marginal area 14 would be covered with a double-sided adhesive strip, there being a protective cover strip on its exposed surface.

Then, in use, the protective strip is pealed off and the top flap of the bag secured to the rim of the lower portion.

Claims

1. A device for wound management which permits the application of an apertured pad to the wound, the device including a apertured pad in combination with a protective compartment, optionally drained, whose interior is open to the wound and which is normally sealed closed but which can be opened if desired.

2. A device for protecting a wound comprising a pad of skin-protective and skin-curative adhesive material to which is secured a foldable sheet of liquid-impermeable material of larger area than the pad, marginal areas of the said sheet being provided with a sealing means, and the sheet being located and dimensioned so that the sheet when folded over on itself is sealed in liquid4ightfashion around its edges to define a compartment.

3. A device according to Claim 2 including a drain tube connected to the compartment so that it is in communication with the interior of the compartment.

4. A device according to Claim 2 or 3 in which the sealing means whereby the edges or marginal portions of the sheets are secured together is an adhesive or bonding substance.

5. A device according to Claim 2,3 or 4 in which the sheet is of synthetic plastic material and its edge regions are resilient and are shaped or moulded to provide a "pop-in" rib and groove seal.

6. A device according to Claim 5 in which the sealing means is a multiple rib and groove seal.

7. A device according to Claim 2,3 or 4 in which the sheet is made of a manually-foldable metal foil and the sealing means is formed by rolling or folding superposed edge regions.

8. A device according to Claim 7 but modified in that the sheet is made of a laminate of plastics material with metal foil.

9. A device according to Claim 2,3 or 4 in which the sealing means is a pressure-sensitive adhesive such that the marginal regions once sealed together can be manually pulled apart if desired.

10. A device according to Claim 4 or any claim dependent thereon in which the marginal portion of one of the sheets has secured thereto an adhesive strip having adhesive on both of its surfaces, and the exposed surface of the strip has its adhesive covered by a removable protective strip.