Post operative brassiere

A post-operative brassiere for use by female patients following cardio-thoracic surgery is disclosed. The post-operative brassiere includes a first breast support cup and a second breast support cup being interconnected by a support strap which is worn about the neck and shoulders of the wearer so as to form an open gap between the first and second breast support cups over the area of the wearer's sternum whereon a surgical incision is located. The conventional torso encircling straps which overlie the sternum in brassieres of the prior art are eliminated. The post-operative brassiere allows access to the incision for routine examination and nursing care while providing adequate support to the wearer's breasts. In one embodiment the breast support cups include elastic panels disposed about the peripheral edges thereof to secure the same in position. In an alternative embodiment, the breast support cups include resilient underwire support means disposed within the elastic panels to counteract the natural downward and lateral pressure exerted by the weight of the breasts against the mid-sternal incision. The support strap extending about the neck and shoulders of wearer is provided with length adjustment means in order to vary the length and thereby adjust the tension created in the elastic panels within each breast support cup to provide a comfortable fit for an individual patient.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 
60/001,928 filed Aug. 4, 1995, by Paulette Smith for Post Operative Bra. 
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
Field of Invention 
This invention is related to brassieres and, more particularly, to 
brassieres suitable for post-operative use by female patients following 
thoracic surgery. 
Traditional brassieres having an elastic band portion adapted to encircle a 
women's torso so as to support the breasts are not entirely suitable for 
use by female patients following thoracic surgery. 
Such surgery generally requires an incision which extends along the midline 
of the chest and is typically secured by means of sutures or external 
staples. The surgical incision initially requires frequent wound care and 
dressing changes which makes the use of a conventional bra impractical for 
post-operative use. 
Although post-operative brassieres are known in the prior art, such devices 
persist in the use of elastic straps or panels which overlie the 
mid-sternal incision line thereby inhibiting ventilation of the incisional 
wound and limiting access to the incision for purposes of examination and 
nursing care. 
In addition, the post-operative brassieres of the prior art typically 
include some form of shoulder strap through which the wearer's arms must 
be positioned causing considerable stress on the incision and pain and 
discomfort due to the physical movement required to put on the brassiere. 
For example, a surgical brassiere for reducing stress along a mid-sternal 
incision line of a female patient following cardio-thoracic surgery is 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,351. This surgical brassiere includes a 
pair of inner straps detachably secured across the gap between the bust 
support cups. Also, this brassiere includes shoulder straps through which 
the wearer's arms must be positioned causing considerable discomfort. 
Further, the prior art devices invariably include a fastening means for 
securing the brassiere about the torso which can be difficult for the 
post-operative patient to manipulate. 
U.S. Pat. No. Des 300,980 discloses the ornamental design for a brassiere 
having a criss-cross type strap arrangement between the bust support cups 
and extending about the torso of the wearer. The torso strap includes 
fastening means for securing the same which are difficult for a surgical 
patient to manipulate due to the physical movement required. 
As a result of these problems, the post-operative use of a brassiere may be 
avoided by the patient due to the discomfort associated with the use of 
the same, which can interfere with effective healing and significantly 
extend the post-operative recovery period. 
Thus, the post surgical brassiere of the present invention has been 
developed to solve these problems by eliminating any straps which would 
extend between the bust support cups to form a completely exposed gap over 
the area of the patient's mid-sternal incision line. 
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,351 to Nancy M. Raml, et al. discloses a surgical 
brassiere for reducing stress along a mid-sternal incision line of a 
female patient following cardio-thoracic surgery. However, this brassiere 
includes shoulder straps and a pair of inner straps detachably secured 
across the gap between the bust support cups together with a ventilated 
panel which necessarily overly the patient's incisional line. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,628 to Mary M. Sanchez discloses a maternity and 
nursing bra incorporating a one-handed fastening method that allows for a 
stronger cup support and variable adjustment of cup size. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,682 to Albert C. Defru discloses a therapeutic 
brassiere utilizing an inner support band constructed of stiffened 
laminate material to carry a wearer's breast and to support them from 
underneath. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,348 to Frank G. Farino discloses a therapeutic 
brassiere for supporting breast implants with breast receiving cups. A 
chest encircling band is enjoined to the lower marginal edges of the cups 
for affixing the brassiere to the chest of the wearer. 
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 300,980 to Joanne G. Mathis discloses the 
ornamental design for brassiere as shown and described therein. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
After much research and study of the above mentioned problems, the present 
invention has been developed to provide a post-operative brassiere which 
completely eliminates the conventional torso straps that interconnect the 
bust support cups so as to form an exposed gap over the area of the 
patient's mid-sternal incision line to help promote healing and recovery. 
This is accomplished by providing the post-operative brassiere of the 
present invention with elastic panels which extend about the periphery of 
the breast support cups to counteract the natural downward and lateral 
pressure exerted on a mid-sternal incision by the weight of the breasts. 
The elastic panels within each individual breast support cup are 
interconnected by an adjustable support strap extending around the neck 
and shoulders of the wearer. By adjusting the length of the support strap, 
the tension created within the elastic panels may be varied to fit the 
brassiere to a particular patient. 
A particularly salient feature of the present invention is that no other 
fasteners are required to secure the post-operative brassiere in position. 
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
new and improved brassiere which is particularly well adapted for use with 
female patients following cardio-thoracic surgery. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a post-operative 
brassiere which provides ventilation of a mid-sternal incisional line for 
purposes of routine examination or nursing care. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a post-operative 
brassiere which gives adequate support during post-operative care to 
counteract the natural downward and lateral pressure exerted on a 
mid-sternal incision by the weight of the breasts. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a post-operative 
brassiere wherein conventional torso straps and related fastening devices 
are eliminated which minimizes patient discomfort during use of the 
brassiere.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference to the drawings, a post-operative brassiere in accordance 
with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and indicated 
generally at 10. Brassiere 10 comprises a flexible garment adapted to be 
worn about the neck and torso of a female patient 11 so as to support the 
patient's breasts. 
Brassiere 10 includes a first breast support cup 12 and a second breast 
support cup 14 which are fabricated to overlie and support the right and 
left breasts, respectively, of the patient 11. In addition, a flexible 
support strap 15 is provided to be worn about the neck of patient 11 for 
supporting the first and second breast cups 12 and 14 over the breasts of 
the patient 11. 
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the upper portions of 
each breast support cup 12 and 14 together with support strap 15 are 
fabricated of a cotton-polyester fabric having elasticity. In order to 
provide increased comfort, each breast support cup 12 and 14 may be 
provided with a quilted lining sewn with elastic thread. 
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, brassiere 10 may be 
fabricated from other decorative cloth materials in the manner of a 
leisure brassiere or lingerie. 
In accordance with a principal feature of the present invention, brassiere 
10 supports the breasts of the female patient 11 so as to form an open gap 
as at 16 between the first and second breast support cups 12 and 14 over 
the area of the sternum whereon the post-operative incision 17 is located. 
Thus, when worn by a female patient following thoracic surgery, the gap 16 
provided between the first and second breast support cups 12 and 14 
provides convenient access to incision 17 which requires frequent nursing 
care and dressing changes to prevent post-operative infection thereof. In 
addition, the gap 16 over the patient's sternum promotes drying of the 
incision 17 to help promote healing and recovery. 
To improve the fit and thereby the comfort during periods of extended wear, 
support strap 15 may be provided with a length adjustment means 18 as 
shown in FIG. 2. 
In the preferred embodiment, adjustment means 18 may include elongated 
strips of a hook and loop type fastener sold under the tradename "VELCRO." 
In an alternative embodiment, the adjustment means may comprise a 
conventional sliding buckle 18' which provides for adjustment of neck 
strap 15 to fit a particular patient. 
Since such length adjustment means are well-known to those skilled in the 
art, further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary. 
The post-operative brassiere 10 functions to maintain adequate support of 
the female patient's breasts so as to avoid undue stress on the incision 
17 following thoracic surgery. In particular, post-operative brassiere 10 
provides support under the front and along the side of each breast so as 
to avoid stress along the incision 17. 
To accomplish this, both the first and second breast support cups 12 and 14 
are provided with elastic panels 19 which extend about the periphery of 
cups 12 and 14 to counteract the natural downward and lateral pressure 
exerted on incision 17 by the weight of the breasts. 
Brassiere 10 is constructed such that elastic panels 19 within each breast 
support cup 12 and 14 are interconnected by the terminal ends 15a of 
support strap 15 being attached thereto. 
Thus, by use of adjustment means 18, the length of the support strap 15 and 
the resulting tension created in the elastic panels 19 may be varied to 
provide adequate support to the wearer. 
In the preferred embodiment panels 19 are fabricated from an elastic 
material such as the type sold under the tradename "SPANDEX." 
Since such elastic materials are well known to those skilled in the art, 
further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary. 
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, brassiere 10 may 
include flexible underwire support means 20 disposed within panels 19 of 
cups 12 and 14 to provide additional support as more clearly shown in 
FIGS. 3-5. 
Underwire support means 20 are fabricated from any suitable resilient 
material such as plastic and arranged in a predetermined pattern within 
elastic panels 19 as shown in FIG. 3 and 4. 
In this arrangement, underwire support means 20 function to maintain the 
shape of breast support cups 12 and 14 to fit the size and shape of the 
wearer's breasts. 
It is anticipated that the post-operative brassiere 10 will be manufactured 
in a variety of sizes in the manner of conventional brassieres to fit 
individual patients. 
Another particularly salient feature of the brassiere 10 of the present 
invention is that no additional fasteners are required to secure the same 
in position as are found in the prior art. It is anticipated that in the 
period following surgery the female patient will be bedridden or 
semi-ambulatory in the normal course of recovery. Thus, by providing the 
brassiere 10 in a variety of sizes and through the use of length 
adjustment means 18, such additional fasteners, which are often difficult 
for the post-operative patient to manipulate, will be unnecessary. 
From the above it can be seen that the post-surgical brassiere of the 
present invention provides a comfortable and functional brassiere for use 
by female patients following cardio-thoracic surgery. 
More particularly, the post-operative brassiere of the present invention 
eliminates the conventional torso straps which overlie the areas of the 
patient's sternum whereon the surgical incision is located. 
Thus, the post-surgical brassiere provides convenient access to the 
incision for routine examinations and nursing care while providing 
adequate support to the wearer's breasts to counteract pressure exerted on 
the incision by the weight of the breasts. 
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways 
than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and 
essential characteristics of such invention. The present embodiments are, 
therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not 
restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency 
range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.