SURGICAL DRAPE AND A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING IT

Abstract: The present invention relates primarily to a surgical drape intended to cover a patient during incisions in the urethra/vagina and/or the abdomen, and secondly to a method of producing said drape. The distinguishing feature of a surgical drape made in accordance with the invention is its one-piece design with a rectangular portion (18) intended to cover the patient's body, and a pair of leggings (13, 14) having a widened portion intended to cover the patient's legs from the foot up to the knee during use of the drape, as well as a tapering portion intended to cover the leg from the knee up to the crotch of the patient, the leggings being integral from the crotch and all the way down while presenting an operating opening (19) located between the leggings, substantially at the crotch thereof.

Description: SURGICAL DRAPE AND A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING IT The present invention relates to a surgical drape intended to cover a patient during surgical incisions in the urethra/vagina and/or in the abdomen. The invention also relates to a method of producing such a surgical drape. When performing surgical procedures in the urethra /vagina, it has been found difficult so far to provide a sufficient degree of sterility in the area of surgical incisions on the patient as well as on the operating table because of the position of the patient during such surgical procedures with the legs widely spread apart and elevated while being supported in specific stirrups. A particular slitted drape has been used which is more closely described below. The use of this previously known slitted drape however involves numerous shortcomings. In fact, it is not possible to provide coverage around the operative area solely by using this type of drape. The open slit of the drape therefore has to be covered by a separate surgical sheet. Furthermore, the covering of the patient's legs will not extend all the way down to the floor; the bottom edge thereof will instead terminate at a considerable height above the floor, causing in this manner the risk of contamination. In addition, the geometry of the prior art surgical drape is not properly adapted to the specific resting position of the patient, which makes it practically impossible when applying the drape to prevent the sheet from being creased within the area around the cutout or operating opening, which in turn creates problems for the surgeon with respect to accessibility at the area of incision. The above-mentioned disadvantages with prior art surgical drapes for use during incisions in the urethra/ vagina and/or abdomen have however been entirely overcome with the present invention, primarily in that the inventive surgical drape is designed in one piece with a rectangular portion serving to cover the patient above the waist, and a pair of leggings each of which having widened portions intended to cover one leg from foot to knee of a patient lying with the legs widely spread apart, raised and bent at the knees, as well as a tapering portion intended to cover each leg from the knee and up to the crotch of the patient, this pair of leggings being integral from the crotch of the leggings and down to the bottom edge of the drape, at least one operating opening being made in this drape for providing access to incisions in the urethra/vagina and/or abdomen. Furthermore, a surgical drape in accordance with the invention is easily manufactured from one single piece by means of the process defined in Claim 5. The invention will be described in more detail while referring to the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 of the drawings is a plan view of a prior art surgical drape, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the surgical drape of Fig. 1 during use, Fig. 3 is a view of an embodiment of a surgical drape made in accordance with the invention and shown in a planar, folded condition, Fig. 4 is a perspective view corresponding to Fig. 2 of the inventive surgical drape of Fig. 3 while being used, Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to that of Fig. 3 of a somewhat modified embodiment of a surgical drape made according to the invention, Fig. 6 is a view from above of the modified drape shown in Fig. 5 in its folded-out condition, Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 showing the inventive drape provided with an oPerating opening, whereas Fig. 8 finally is a perspective view of the drape shown in Fig. 7 when used during an urethra operation. The prior art surgical drape shown in Fig. 1 is formed as one single elongate piece which is divided along a substantial portion of its length by a longitudinal slit 2. The portions 3, 4 disposed at either side of the slit are folded and stiched together along their edges facing the slit. The seams are denoted 5 and 6 in the drawing. The folded portions 3, 4 are intended to cover the patient's legs during use of the drape. At the inner end of the slit there is made a cutout 7 constituting an operating opening during surgical procedures. The wider portion 8 of the surgical drape serves partly to cover the body of the patient above the legs, and partly to be applied over an anesthetic frame. Fig. 2, which is a perspective view as seen in the direction towards the area of incision, illustrates the positioning of the prior art drape shown in Fig. l. The legs of the patient are indicated by dash-dotted lines in this figure from which it is also evident that the leggings 3, 4 are not adapted to the position of the patient's legs during the operation. It appears from Fig. l that the folded portions 3, 4 are quite straight, whereas the legs of the patient as viewed in Fig. 2 are distinguishly bent. As a consequence, the leggings 3, 4 of the drape are not well-adapted to the position of the patient's legs but are instead creased thereby forming heavy folds which disturbingly affect the surgical procedure. The open gap formed by the slit 2 must of course be covered as well, which is done by using a separate sheet 9. Furthermore, the leggings 3, 4 of the prior art drape have narrow dimensions resulting in that the lower edges 3', 4' thereof will be hanging high up above the floor, causing in this way a considerable risk for the operating staff to bump directly into the legs 10, 11 of the operating table or any other unprotected object below said edges 3', 4'. If the staff then touch their pants or protective coats in order to wipe their hands for example, there is a great danger of the operation wound being contaminated with bacteria coming from the uncovered objects below the edges 3', 4' of the sheet. Fig. 3 illustrates a suitable embodiment of a surgical drape in a folded condition, performed in accordance with the invention. This drape is manufactured from one single elongate piece which is folded around its transverse center line, the continuous end portion formed by folding being folded inwardly in the direction towards the opposite end 12 which is left open due to folding, obtaining thereby two leggings 13, 14 of which one 13 is indicated in Fig. 3. After folding, the blank has been sheared or cut longitudinally in the direction from the open end 12 parallel with the longitudinal direction of the blank and up to the leggings 13, 14 formed by folding, and thereafter obliquely outwards towards one edge 15 of the blank and the respective legging. The straight and oblique cutting edges are denoted 16 and 17 in Fig. 3. The folded and cut or sheared blank has then been united alongside the cutting edges 16 and along the longitudinal edges 15 and the oblique edges 17 of each legging. In this manner there is partly obtained a rectangular sheet portion 18 which is intended to cover the portion of the patient's body above the legs as well as being hung over the anesthetic frame conventionally used in surgery, and partly the leggings 13, 14 which are almost tent-shaped and intended to cover the legs of the patient as well as the region around the area of incision. Prior to or after folding, an operating opening has been made in the blank which in the completed drape shown herein is located in the crotch portion between the leggings 13, 14. This operating opening is illustrated in Fig. 4 and is denoted there by 19. Fig. 4 illustrates the application of the drape described here while referring to rig. 3. The legs of the patient are indicated by dash-dotted lines in the figure, and this figure as a whole constitutes a perspective view seen in the direction towards the area of incision. As is clearly evident from Fig. 4, the geometry of the drape leggings 13, 14 is adapted to the position of the patient's legs during surgical incisions in urethra or in the proximity thereof The oblique edge 17 of either legging 13, 14 rests against the upper side of the patient's upper leg portion, whereas the joining edge 15 of the legging extends from the knee down to the foot of the patient. Thanks to this arrangement, the portion of the surgical drape disposed around the operating opening 19, i.e. the sides of the drape leggings 13, 14 facing the operating personnel, will be completely smooth, as seen in Fig, 4. Due to the leggings 13, 14 being united at the crotch, there is no need of any additional cover sheets, in contradiction to the case with prior art surgical drapes. As seen in Fig. 4, the leggings 13, 14 are preferably so widely dimensioned that they reach all the way down to the floor during use, and thereby the risk of contaminating the operation wound is considerably decreased in comparison with the risk involved with the use of prior art drapes according to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 illustrates a somewhat modified embodiment of the drape shown in Fig. 3. The details of Fig. 5 which correspond to similar components in Fig. 3 have been given the same reference numerals as those of the latter figure. As in the embodiment according to Fig. 3, the manufacture of the surgical drape illustrated in Fig. 5 is based on the use of one single elongate, rectangular piece. The only essential difference as compared to Fig. 3 is that the drape portions 20, 21 disposed outside the cutting edge 16 extending in the longitudinal direction of the drape are united by welding to the oblique edge 17 of each legging 13, 14. For enabling separation of the leqsings, the remaining triangular flap of the originally first fold which was subsequently folded inwards, is cut perpendicularly inwardly from the upper longitudinal side down to its apex which is located at the point where the edges 16 and 17 meet. The additional drape portions 20, 21 situated outside the leggings are furthermore welded together along the longitudinally cut edge 22. The flap formed by said drape portions 20, 21 can then be turned between two positions; one where it is turned over and in between the leggings 13, 14 for covering the operating opening 19, and one where it is positioned across the rectangular drape portion 18 and covers an operating opening 23 therein, as is shown in Fig. 6. The surgical drape shown in Figs. 5 and 6 thus constitutes a combination drape which can be utilized for incisions in the vagina/urethra as well as in the abdomen. Fig. 7 illustrates a drape corresponding to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 but having an operating opening 24 made in the flap member which is formed of the portions 21, 22 disposed outside the leggings 13, 14. This drape is intended to be turned inside out prior to use. After being turned in this manner, the flap formed by the portions 20, 21 is laid inside the leggings 13,14 as shown in Fig. 8, the operating opening 24 of the flap thereby ending up right ahead of the operating opening 19 in the crotch of the leggings. The zone around the operating opening 24 on the side of the flap facing the patient during use is preferably provided with a binding agent allowing the flap, which can also be introduced a distance underneath the patient's buttocks, to be attached at a predetermined part of the patient's body. Thus, the flap made out of the united portions 20 and 21 is utilized as a sterile screening of the patient, and when using the surgical drape described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8, the physician who is sitting between the drape leggings 13, 14 during surgery will be able, without further regard to a sterile set-up, to place the legs under the leggings of the surgical drape. A surgical drape performed in accordance with the resent invention is however not restricted to the exemplary embodiments set forth above, since a plurality of modifications are conceivable within the scope of the following claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A surgical drape intended to cover a patient during incisions in the urethra/vagina and/or the abdomen, characterized in that it is performed in one piece with a rectangular portion (18), serving to cover the upper part of the patient's body, and two leggings (13,14) having widened portions serving to cover each leg from the foot un to the knee of a patient resting with the legs widely spread apart, raised and bent at the knees, as well as tapering portions intended to cover each leg from the knee up to the patient's crotch, the leggings (13,14) being integral from the crotch of the leggings and down to the lower edge of the drape in which there is made at least one operating opening (19,23,24) for the performance of surgical incisions in the urethra/vagina and/or the abdomen. 2. A drape according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is performed as one single elongate piece which is folded around its transverse center line, the continuous end portion thus obtained being folded inwards for creating two leggings (13,14) dimensioned for enabling each legging to accommodate one of the patient's legs; that the drape has a straight longitudinal edge constituting the lower edge when using the drape; that the folded blank has at its open end (12) a narrower portion (18) with a center line (16) running parallel to the lower edge and extending up to the leggings; that the upper edge of the folded blank thereafter extends obliquely outwards a distance (17) substantially corresponding to the length of the upper leg portion of a patient and that the rest of the upper edge (15) of each legging is substantially parallel to the lower edge of the drape; that the folded blank is joined along the center line (16) of the narrow portion and that the leggings are individually joined alongside the oblique edges (17) and further along the upper edge sections (15) up to their closed ends. 3. A drape according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is performed as one single elongate rectangular piece which is folded around its transverse center line, its continuous end portion obtained in this manner being folded inwards to form a pair of leggings (13,14) dimensioned for enabling one of the patient's legs to be accommodated in each legging; that the drape has a straight longitudinal edge constituting the lower edge when using the drape; that the folded blank is sheared or cut up from its open end along a cutting line (22) running in parallel to the longitudinal edge up to the leggings (13,14); that the drape is joined together at either side of said cutting line to form the rectangular portion (18) as well as a flap (20,21); that the folded blank is joined together from the termination of the cutting line (22) along a line running obliquely outwards a distance (17) substantially corresponding to the length of the patient's upper leg portion and that the rest of the upper edge (15) of each legging, which is substantially parallel to the lower edge of the drape, is joined along the upper edge sections (15) up to the closed ends of the leggings. 4. A drape according to Claim 3, characterized in that operating openings (19,23) are made between the leggings (13,14) as well as in the rectangular portion (18) in the proximity of the leggings; and that the flap (20,21) is intended to be applied over one or the other of the two operating openings depending on whether a surgical incision is to be performed in the urethra/vagina or in the abdomen. 5. A method of producing a surgical drape according to Claim 1 to be used during surgical incisiors in the urethra/vagina and/or, the abdomen, characterized in that the drape is made out of one single elongate blank which is folded around its transverse center line, the continuous folding end obtained being folded inwards to form two leggings (13,14) dimensioned to enable one of the patient's legs to be accommodated in each legging, the blank thereafter being sheared or cut longitudinally in the direction from its end (12) which is left open due to the folding, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the blank and at least substantially up to the leggings (13,14); that the folded blank is joined along the sheared or cut edge (16); and that the leggings (13,14) are individucily joined to said cut edge (16) obliquely out wards from one edge of the blank or legging and further along straight edges (15) up to the closed ends of the leggings, at least one through-going operating opening (19) being made in the blank. 6. A method according to Claim 5, characterized in that the drape is produced of a rectangular blank; that portions (20,21) above the cutting line (16) are joined (22) along said line to form a continuous flap (20, 21) intended to cover either an operating opening (19) disposed at the crotch of the leggings, or an operating opening (3) made in the rectangular portion (18). 7. A method according to Claim 5, characterized in that the blank, after having been longitudinally sheared or cut in the direction from the end of the blank (12) which is left open due to the folding, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the blank and at least sub stantially up to the leggings (13,14), is thereafter sheared or cut obliquely outwards towards one edge (15) of the blank and each legging, the folded blank then being joined along the sheared or cut edge (16); and that the leggings (13,14) are individually joined along oblique edges (17) and further along straight edges (15) up to the closed ends of the leggings, there being made in the blank a through-going operating opening (19) which in the completed surgical drape is located between the leggings, primarily at the crotch of the leggings.

Inventors: HANSSEN, CARL-OTTO, STARZMANN, MARTIN
Applicants: MOLNLYCKE AB
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A61B19
IPC codes: A61B19