IE48951B1 - Surgical dressings - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to surgical dressings. The typical manner of dressing a wound subsequent to surgery, such as in the abdominal region, is as follows.

First, a primary dressing, such as a guaze sponge Is £. placed by the attendant over the wound. Next, an absorbent dressing, termed a secondary dressing, is placed over the primary dressing, and is secured in-place. In use, bocy fluids pass through the primary dressing into the secondary dressing for absorption and retention therein.

. Although such a dressing procedure has been used for mar.y years, the prior secondary dressings do not provide an adequate barrier against passage of liquid completely through the secondary dressing, particularly if pressure is applied to the secondary dressing during use. Once Is. liquid passes completely through the secondary dressing, . termed liquid strike through, the liquid provides a ready path for passage of bacteria through the dressing to the wound with possible deleteric us results to the patient. However, it is not sufficient to merely place 73. a liquid impervious barrier over the dressing to prevent strike through, since the dressing must have the capability cf passing water vapour and gas through the dressing to permit the wound to breathe and promote healing, and usual liquid impervious barriers prevent such 75. breathing. Also, prior dressings have required an excessive amount of time for their application to the patient, resulting in inconvenience to the hospital personnel.

A feature cf the present invention is to provide a ?0. surgical dressing of simplified construction. 2.

The surgical dressing according to the present invention comprises, a liquid pervious top sheet, having a pair of opposed end edges, a backing sheet of liquid pervious material having a pair of end sections . extending past the end edges of the too sheet, an absoibent pad intenrediate the backing and top sheets, an adhesive on a front surface of the end sections and a pair of release sheets releasably attached to the adhesive mi the said end sections, the said adhesive being liquid repellant and substan10. tially impervious to passage of bacteria therethrough but breathable so as to permit passage of air therethrough, and covers substantially the whole of the surface of the backing sheet thereby contacting the back surface of the said pad. The adhesive on the front . surface of the end sections is preferably a pressuresensitive adhesive.

The top sheets and the backing sheet preferably comprise non woven materials. The pad preferably comprises cellulose fibres.

. The liquid repellent adhesive on the backing sheet facing the pad provides a liquid repellent barrier for liquids received in the pad and minimizes the possibility of liquid strike through of body fluids during the use of the absorbent device. The . adhesive also being breathable permits passage of air through the adhesive and the backing sheet and thus promotes healing of the patient's wound.

The coated backing sheet also being substantially impervious to passage of bacteria therethrough, . minimizes the possibility of contamination of the patient's wound by bacteria.

An advantage of the invention is that the adhesive contacts and stabilizes the pad when wetted during use.

. The removable release sheets are provided on the end sections of the backing sheet to permit con48951 3. 1C. venient attachment of the dressing tc the patient through use of the end sections.

A further advantage of the present invention is thac surgical dressings may be constructed in a simplified and inexpensive manner.

The invention may be put into practice in a number of ways and one embodiment will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a back plan view of a surgical dressing in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a front plan view of the dressing of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figures 1 to 4 show a surgical dressing generally designated 10 having an absorbent pad 12, a liquid pervious top sheet 14, and a backing sheet 16 of liquid pervious material. The pad 12 has a front surface 16, a back surface 20, a pair of side edges 22, . and a pair of end edges 24 connecting the side edges 22. The pad 12 may be constructed from any suitable material, such as a mass of loosely formed cellulose fibres formed by comminuting wood pulp, termed wood fluff in the art. 1C. The front or top sheet 14 has a front surface for facing the patient during use of the dressing, ana a back surface 28 facing the pad 12. The top sheet 14 also has a pair of opposed side edges 30 defining side margins 32 (see Figure 4) extending past the side . edges 22 of the pad 12, and a pair cf opposed end edges 34 connecting the side edges 30 and defining a pair of opposed end margins 36 extending past the end edges 24 of the pad 12. The top sheet 14 may be made of a polyester-rayon non-woven material, such as micrexed . Novonette (Registered Trade Mark) SF 117, available from The Kendall Company, Boston, Massachusetts.

The backing sheet 18 has a front surface 38 facing toward the pad 12, and a back surface 40 facing away from the patient during use of the dressing. The . backing sheet 16 has a pair of opposed side edges 42 defining a pair of opposed side margins 44 extending past the side ecges 22 of the pad 12 (see Figure 4), and a pair of end edges 46 connecting the side edges 32 and defining a pair of opposed end sections 46 . extending past both the end edges 24 of the pad and 489 51 S. the end edges 3M of the top sheet IM, with the end section M8 extending substantially the width of the dressing (see Figure 3). The backing sheet 16 may suitably be constructed of tbe non-woven material £. -previously identified in connection with the top sheet im.

The backing sheet 16 also has a layer or coating of liquid repellent, breathable adhesive 50 substantially covering the front surface 36 of the backing sheet 16 1C. including the front surface of the backing sheet end sections Mg. A suitable adhesive of this type comprises an acrylic based adhesive on a tape, such as Tenderskin No. 1596 (Registered Trade Mark) available from The Kendall Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Thus, the . adhesive 50 forms a liquid repellent barrier over the back surface 20 cf the pad 12 in order to minimize the possibility of ’’liquid strike through of body fluids during the use of the dressing, and provides a barrier against passage of bacteria to minimise the possibility 2C. of contamination to the patient's wound during the use of the dressing. The adhesive and backing sheet 16 permit passage of air therethrough, such that the dressing allows the patient's skin to breathe promoting healing of the patient's wound. Further, the adhesive . 50 may be used to bond the side margins 32 of the top sheet IM to the side margins MM of the backing sheet 16, in addition to the end margins 36 of the top sheet IM to the inner portions of the backing sheet end sections Mg. The adhesive 50 also contacts the back . surface 20 of the pad 12 in order to stabilize the pad when it is wetted during use of the dressing. As 6. shown, the dressing has a pair of release sheets 52 of suitable type releasably attached to and covering the adhesive 50 on the backing sheet end sections 48. Thus, the release sheets 52 may be peeled from the . end sections 48 of the backing sheet 16 to expose the underlying adhesive 50 and permit convenient securement of the dressing to the patient by the end sections 48 during placement of the dressing on the patient.

. Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the backing sheet 16 of the dressing has a suitable adhesive which provides a liquid repellent barrier for the dressing, and stabilizes the dressing pad during use. The adhesive on the backing sheet also . may be utilized to secure the top and backing sheets together, and the backing sheet end sections and associated adhesive provide a convenient medium for attaching the dressing to the patient during placement, thus eliminating the need for separate tape . strips or securing devices. It will also be apparent that a dressing in accordance with the present invention may be constructed in a simplified manner and at a reduced cost by merely spreading adhesive on the backing sheet and securing the components of the . dn using together.

The present application is a divisional from Potent ftCaticzi Mo. 4295b which is concerned with diapers and claims an absorl >-nt article comprising, a liquid pervious . top sheet, a backing sheet of fluid pervious material, an absorbent pad intermediate the tep and backing sheets, a coating of breathable liquid repellent adhesive substantially covering a front surface of the backing sheet facing the pad, the marginal edges . of the backing and top sheets being secured together around the periphery of the pad by the Said adhesive48951

Claims (7)

1. A- surgical dressing comprising, a liquid pervious top sheet having a pair of opposed end edges, a backing sheet of liquid pervious material having a pair of end sections extending past the end 5. edges of the top sheet, an absorbent pad intermediate the backing and top sheets, an adhesive on a front surface of the end sections, and a pair of release sheets releasably attached to the adhesive on the said end sections, the said adhesive being .Liquid 10. repellent and substantially impervious to passage of bacteria therethrough but breathable so as to permit passage of air therethrough, and covers substantially the whole of the surface of the backing sheet thereby contacting the back surface of the said pad. 15.

2. A dressing as claimed in Claim 1, in which the end sections extend substantially the width of the dressing. 20.

3. An article as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the top sheet comprises a non woven material.

4. An article as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the backing sheet comprises a non woven 25. material.

5. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the pad comprises cellulose fibres. 30.

6. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the adhesive comprises an acrylic based adhesive.

7. A surgical dressing as claimed in Claim 1 substantially as specifically described heroin with reference to Figures 1 to 4.