GB2268689A - Truss for an inguinal hernia - Google Patents

Abstract

A truss is disclosed for exerting the same pressure on a hernia, outside the abdominal cavity, as that inside the abdominal cavity. The truss includes a harness formed of two belts, a pouch and a metal plate contained in the pouch which is large enough to rest on the strong abdominal muscles outside of the herniated area and which is bent to contour to the abdomen. <IMAGE>

Description

A TRUSS FOR AN INGUINAL HERNIA Backaround of the Invention 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a truss for an inguinal hernia which prevents deterioration of an inguinal hernia.

A hernia by definition is a break or rupture in the abdominal cavity brought about by excessive pressure against the wall. Everybody generates these internal strains, and most have no ill effects. Some, unfortunately, have weak muscle areas that become thinner due to excessive internal pressures. When the muscles become thin enough to break, a hernia results.

There are many types of hernias such as hiatal in which the hernia passes into the thorax; umbilical which the name implies takes place at the navel, and inguinal. Umbilical and inguinal hernias can be detected and treated in a similar fashion. Unlike inguinal hernias, the umbilical hernias occur mostly in children.

The inguinal hernia is probably the most common, and the present invention is related to its prevention.

According to the book titled "Statistical Abstracts 1984" published by the United States Bureau of Census, there were 460,000 inguinal hernia operations performed on men in 1981, fourth in frequency after muscular skeletal symptoms, cardiovascular symptoms and biopsies, in that order.

Hooke's Law of elastic limits will help one understand what takes place in the abdomen and suggests steps to take to keep the strain within the elastic limit and prevent the strain that could cause the muscle to break and form the hernia. The elastic limit is the longest stress that can be applied to a body without deforming it. As long as the elastic limit is not exceeded, the strain produced is proportional to the strain containing it. In other words, one can apply a strain to an elastic material an indefinite number of times, and it will always return to its original size and shape as long as the elastic limit is not exceeded.

However, if the strain exceeds the elastic limit, it will cause a permanent stretch. It will become progressively longer and thinner with successively lower elastic limits. These elongations are cumulative, and applicant believes irreversible.

The breaking point will be reached when the cross-sectional area is so thin that even a small strain can cause it to break. The graph shown in Fig. 7 illustrates Hooke's Law. As seen in the graph, if one can keep strains within the abdomen below A, no damage to the muscle due to strain can take place. Any strain which exceeds the elastic limit will be called excessive strain.

It is the excessive strain one must avoid as much as possible to keep from reaching the Breaking Point B. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link; and by the same token, the abdominal muscle is no stronger than its weakest area. It is the weakest area that determines the abdomen's elastic limit and breaking point.

2. Descrintion of Related Art Trusses for hernias and in particular for inguinal hernias are known in the prior art.

The patent of Kellog discloses the use of pressure pads connected to solid metal plates through holes. The pressure pads include spring members and studs for supporting the pads with an upwardly and inwardly twisting action against the body of a wearer.

United States patent no. 1,966,175 to Kappner discloses a shield constructed of metal or other rigid material having inwardly bulging portions to press against abdominal muscles.

United States patent no. 2,522,056 to O'Brien discloses a truss having a pad covered with soft padding material. The pad has a recess in the center for receiving the bulge of the hernia.

The contour of the O'Brien device actually allows for the hernia to protrude into the recess of the pad, while the outer edge of the pad surrounding the recess applies pressure around the area of the hernia. However, this uneven pressure impedes bloodf low.

United States patent no. 2,222,488 to Rich discloses a plate within a pouch wherein the plate is very flexible and elastically bendable, resuming its original shape when stress is removed.

Thus, the flexible plate of Rich acts in the same way as the pad of O'Brien, allowing for the bulge of the hernia to push out of the abdomen. As stated above, this even pressure is undesirable.

Doctors discourage-use of these types of trusses because they all force a pad into the abdomen which impedes the flow of blood. Because of this, the tissue surrounding the hernia is starved of blood nourishment and subsequently greatly deteriorates the tissue needed to suture the operation and tears through the flesh and requires the operation to be performed over again.

However, none of the above prior art proposals disclose a method or a truss for exerting the same pressure on the hernia as that inside the abdominal cavity in order to restore size, position and strength to a hernia while at the same time avoiding the impeding of bloodflow.

summary of the Invention Hence with the foregoing in mind, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a truss for exerting the same pressure on the hernia, outside the abdominal cavity, as that inside the abdominal cavity in order to restore size, position and strength to the hernia while avoiding the impeding bloodflow.

This is achieved by providing a rigid pressure plate which is plastically formable to contour to the abdomen, and is large enough to rest on and be supported by the strong abdominal muscles which surround the herniated area.

The pressure within the abdomen is the only pressure available. Thus, the curved aluminum plate that matches the tissues surrounding the hernia forces the hernia against the plate which acts as a buffer and exerts exactly the same pressure on the hernia within the abdomen. As a result, all elements are uniform throughout the walls of the abdomen. This is based on Newton's law of motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). There can be no pinching or collapsing of the blood vessels and subsequently the body is restored to its original position and strength as though the hernia was non-existing.

Based on Hooke's law of elasticity, it is impossible for the weak abdominal muscles to expand, and if they cannot expand, they cannot get thinner and they cannot break and form a hernia. With the hernia restored to its original position, no further deterioration can take place and therefore no operation would be performed, with tremendous savings in medical costs.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a pressure plate with a unique shape which is large enough to rest on the strong abdominal walls, yet can accommodate the thigh of a wearer.

Further embodiments of the present invention can minimize shifting of the truss by providing a vertical strip fastened at an angle, such that if the front or back of the truss shifts, the opposite side tends to draw back in an attempt to equalize front and back tension.

Also provided are hook and loop fastenings, horizontal and vertical, which close in front and in full vie#w, and also can be adjusted automatically for wear. A lock on the hook and loop fasteners can be provided to prevent the closure from accidentally opening when worn.

Brief Description of the Drawings For a fuller understanding of the nature and the objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in consideration with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the truss of the present invention laid out; Fig. 2 is a sectional view along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view along lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the truss of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a partial exploded perspective view of the present invention, showing the pouch of the truss; Fig. 6 illustrates the truss of the present invention worn by a person; and Fig. 7 is a graph illustrating Hooke's Law of Elasticity.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring now to the drawings of Figs. 1-6, Fig. 1 shows the apparatus of applicant's invention in which a harness (1) includes two belts, a first belt (2) and a second belt (3) which is connected to and disposed at an angle to the first belt (2) to keep the front and back of the harness (1) even. The harness (1) can be preferably made of fabric material and can be machine washable The belt also includes a pouch with a flap (5). The pouch is intended to harness a pressure plate (6) (as shown in Fig. 5) removable from within the pouch and which is made of malleable material and is preferably made of aluminum and is shaped to contour to the shape of the wearer's abdomen, as seen in Fig. 6.As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4, the first belt (2) and second belt (3) are adjustable about the wearer preferably by means of hook and loop fastener strips (7). In addition, there is a ring holder (8) attached to the hook and loop fastener strip (10) of truss (4) as seen in Fig. 4. This ring permits the lock to be pulled easily and the lock prevents the closure from accidently opening while being worn.

The pressure plate (6) as seen in Fig. 5 is preferably made of thin cross-sectional metal and thus avoids telltale bulges of the clothing to reduce the visibility of the truss.

To minimize shifting of the truss (4) or harness (1), the second belt (3) is fastened at an angle. If the front or back section shifts the opposite side tends to draw back in an attempt to equalize front and back tension.

The edges of the pressure plate (6) are curved away from the wearer's body to prevent injury or cutting to the wearer. The pressure plate (6) is substantially large to cover and extend beyond the herniated area to an area of strong abdominal muscles.

This permits the outer edges of the plate to rest on and be supported by the strong muscles. Furthermore, the plate should be rigid, yet plastically deformable so that it can be shaped to the contour of the abdomen of the wearer. The bulging area can then be restored to its original position by force of the plate, which is uniform in the lateral direction.

In addition, the plate of the invention has a unique shape.

Because of its relatively large size and rigidity, the plate has the approximate shape of a rectangle with one corner sliced off to accommodate the thigh of the wearer. This sliced-off area (19) can take the shape of a concave arc to provide even further comfort in relation to movement of the thigh. Additionally, the five corners of the plate may be rounded. This plate provides support for the weak abdominal muscle area which can not stretch and thus insures that the inside and outside abdominal pressures are equal so that the same area throughout the abdominal walls are uniform with no contractions to impede bloody low while the truss is worn.

From the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been set forth in considerable detail for the purposes of completely disclosing the same, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes maybe made in such detail without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

Claims (12)

Claims

1. A truss for an inguinal hernia, comprising: a rigid, plastically deformable, pressure plate; a harness for fastening said pressure plate against the abdomen, said harness including two adjustable belts, a first belt adapted to adjustably fit around a waist of a person, and a second belt adjustably extending from a back area of the person and beneath a groin area of the person to an abdominal area of the person#; said harness further including a pouch for housing said pressure plate therein and applying said pressure plate against the abdomen of the person;; said pressure plate being substantially contoured to the area of a person's abdomen where the hernia is located and being sized and shaped that the edges of said pressure plate extend past the area of the hernia and onto strong abdominal muscles surrounding the hernia, to thereby provide uniform pressure to the area so that abdominal pressure from within and without the area is substantially equal, thus preventing the inguinal hernia from deteriorating further, while allowing for the free flow of blood throughout the area.

2. A truss according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter of the pressure plate approximates the shape of a rectangle with a corner removed, so as to accommodate in said removed corner the area of person where the abdomen meets the thigh.

3. A truss according to claim 2, wherein the corner removed portion approximates a concave arc.

4. A truss according to claim 1, wherein said pressure plate is made of malleable material.

5. A truss according to claim 4, wherein said malleable material is aluminum.

6. A truss according to claim 1, wherein said pressure plate has edges which are bent away from the abdomen.

7. A truss according to claim 1, wherein said pressure place has a thin cross-section.

8. A truss according to claim 1, wherein said harness is made of fabric and is machine washable.

9. A truss according to claim 1, wherein said pouch has a flap and means for fastening said flap to close said pouch and secure said pressure plate therein.

10. A truss according to claim 9, wherein said means for fastening said flap is a snap fastener.

11. A truss according to claim 1, further including fastening means for adjustably fitting and fastening said belts.

12. A truss according to claim 11, wherein said fastening means are hook and loop fastener strips.