Surgery – Instruments – Means for removal of skin or material therefrom
Patent
1998-09-03
2000-05-16
Thaler, Michael H.
Surgery
Instruments
Means for removal of skin or material therefrom
83678, A61B 1750
Patent
active
060630949
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a skin graft preparation device, hereinafter called a mesher. This device is designed to incise and "mesh" a piece of skin usually prior to grafting in order to allow it to expand and cover a larger area than its donor site area. More specifically the said invention relates to an adjustable mesher device wherein the mesher has an adjustable meshing drum (roller) or drums useful for the meshing of the entire range of meshing ratios thus eliminating the need to keep various meshing devices. Another embodiment of the mesher has two consecutive meshing drums. A further embodiment of the mesher has a rotatable common holder allowing selection from a number of meshing drums. These meshers can mesh skin in both powered and manual modes of operation and may be used with most existing skin graft carriers or may be used without any carrier. The present invention further relates to a system for using the mesher.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Skin graft meshers are designed to incise and "mesh" a piece of skin prior to grafting in order to allow it to expand and cover a larger area than its donor site area. The large number of incisions offer a good drainage to exudate from the recipient site but may leave, after healing and complete epithelialization, a typical "mesh" pattern that is directly dependent on the incisions size and on the pattern. The skin grafts may be meshed into several mesh ratios according to needs, available skin, functional, and aesthetic considerations. The commonest ratios are 1:1.5 and 1:3, and different cutting devices and systems are available respectively.
The length and width of the meshed skin graft is limited to the available carrier's dimensions, usually 30.times.10 cms. The old type meshing devices (U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,242) includes a planar skin graft cutter.
The typically modern up-to-date meshing system includes a mesher containing cutting drum (roller) and skin graft carriers. The carriers are compatible only to the specific mesher. Thus, in order to have the entire range of meshing ratios, one should keep "meshing systems" that include stocks of different skin graft carriers with the compatible mesher or different ratio cutting drums or meshers with compatible carriers. (U.S. Pat, Nos. 5,004,468 and 5,219,352)
Conventionally the meshing work is done by cranking a long ratchet or a crank which demands rather strenuous work by the nurse or the surgeon and interferes with the fine control of the extruded skin graft, as at least two people are needed to operate the mesher and to control the skin graft.
The adjustable mesher of the present invention solves the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the meshing of skin. The adjustable mesher offers in a single skin mesher all of the range of skin meshing ratios. The adjustable mesher omits the stocks of different skin graft carriers. It may accommodate any existing carrier or cutting board or it can be used without a carrier at all. Furthermore the adjustable mesher can mesh skin in both powered and manual modes of operation, and is easy to operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an adjustable skin graft preparation device for producing a predetermined pattern of incisions comprising of: an upper or lower meshing drum or drums holding a plurality of pairs of annular cutting disks or holding a plurality of single annular cutting disks and the said cutting disks have adjustable predetermined angular orientation one to the other on the same drum and between drums when there is more than one meshing drum, an upper or lower feeding drum or drums, means for setting and locking the cutting disks on the meshing drum or drums, means for rotating the drums, means for controlling the space between the meshing drum or drums and the feeding drum or drums for feeding variable thickness skin carrier plates or cutting boards or for feeding skin graft samples directly between the drums, and a geared linkage mechanism wherein the synchronous rotation of t
REFERENCES:
patent: 3470782 (1969-10-01), Acker
patent: 3866497 (1975-02-01), Wolfberg et al.
patent: 3978752 (1976-09-01), Meaden et al.
patent: 3978753 (1976-09-01), Meaden et al.
patent: 5196020 (1993-03-01), Atkinson et al.
patent: 5219352 (1993-06-01), Atkinson
Dippert William H.
L.R. Surgical Instruments Ltd.
Thaler Michael H.
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