Surgery – Truss – Pad
Patent
1981-11-09
1984-03-13
Apley, Richard J.
Surgery
Truss
Pad
A61F 1300
Patent
active
044360894
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cushion containing bandage or dressing for holding skin grafts tightly in position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the surgical grafting of skin sections, especially when a full-thickness skin transplantation is performed, it is of critical importance that uniform pressure be applied to the graft over the entire area thereof to press the transplanted skin firmly against the respective surface area of the human body. Such evenly applied pressure must be maintained from six to eight days, with slight individual variations being permissible. It is known to use for this purpose a pressure dressing which includes a cushion of a size larger than the section of the grafted skin so that the graft is evenly pressed over its entire surface area against the lesion. (Ferris Smith: Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery, W. B. Saunders Co., 1950, pages 26 and 27.)
However, even with the most meticulous care it is not always possible to protect the surface area of the cushion in contact with the grafted skin from the effects of the pressure exerted by the bandage, resulting in the formation of folds in the cushion, especially when the skin is grafted onto a strongly curved body part and the transplanted skin section is large. Such folds in the cushion tend to cause corresponding impressions or similar folds in the transplanted skin which remain visible even after complete healing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to overcome the afore-mentioned disadvantage and to provide a pressure dressing for use with skin grafts. This is accomplished according to the invention in that the cushion is provided with a rigid plate on the side opposite the area of contact with the body.
The beneficial effect of the invention is that the pressure exerted by the bandage as applied is distributed evenly by way of the plate over the entire cushion. In addition, the cushion, which is usually filled with air or water, is prevented by the rigid plate from becoming indented when the first turn of the pressure bandage is applied over the cushion, whereby portions of the surface of the air filled cushion applied to the grafted skin may be slightly displaced relatively to the body surface, causing the formation of folds in the cushion, even if the sheet or foil of which the cushion is made, and which is in contact with the body surface, is resilient.
The size of the plate should be so selected that the plate is capable of performing the functions of pressure distribution and prevention of a notching or cave-in of the cushion. In one embodiment of the invention, the plate is at least approximately as large as the skin graft, so that the formation of folds in the area of the skin graft can be prevented with a high degree of probability.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the plate is shaped to conform to the contours of the surface of the body. For example, if the pressure dressing is to be applied to an extremity, the plate may be approximately dish-shaped. The shape of a particular part of the human body may also be accommodated by using a plurality of plates put together to arrive at the desired configuration. For example, the entire periphery of a leg section may be covered by an assembly of plates placed closely adjacent each other. In this instance, the cushion is disposed between such assembly of plates and the surface of the leg. This embodiment of the invention is well suited, for example, for use in the surgical treatment of elephantiasis. While an inflatable air splint has become known from a publication by G. Schwager in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Vol. 37, No. 4, April 1976, p. 523, apparently consisting of a transparent air cushion encasing an extremity and pulled over the dressing and then inflated, the problem with which the present invention is concerned, namely, folds forming on the side of the cushion which is in contact with the body being transferred as deformations onto the grafted skin, is not even recognized in
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Apley Richard J.
Macey Harry J.
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