Improvements in the Manufacture of Bandages and other Surgical Appliances.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 13th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bandages and other Surgical
Appliances.
I, EUGENE MARIUS DESPREZ of 16 Rue Drouot, Paris, France, Doctor of
Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Bandages such as those made of bands or strips of linen or other fabric answer
very well for dressing sores or wounds, but are not satisfactory when fractures have
to be reduced or set as they do not possess the requisite rigidity; and it therefore
becomes necessary either to immerse the bands in a silicate or dextrine solution
or to employ a moulding of plaster. In either case the time occupied in effecting
a dressing of this nature is long and necessitates the patient's resting for a time
in a state of absolute immobility.
Attempts have already been made to remedy this drawback by making use of
bands or strips of gutta percha, caoutchouc or similar material immersed prior
to use in hot water which gives them great suppleness and facilitates their
application; the bands on cooling assume rapidly the rigidity required for a
satisfactory bandage. The bandages thus made would be perfect if they did not
possess the great inconvenience, when softened by heat, of sticking to the fingers
of the operator, and especially of the folds or layers sticking together thus
preventing any further use of the bands for dressing purposes.
My invention is intended to overcome these drawbacks and consists in making
the bandages by combining gutta percha, caoutchouc or other similar material
such as has hitherto been employed, with a suitable supple textile fabric of very
large mesh offering of itself no resistance, but sufficient to prevent the gutta
percha sticking to the fingers of the operator, or the folds of the bandage
sticking together so as to prevent examination. The combination of the gutta
percha and of the fabric employed does not in any way interfere with the flexibility
of the bandage when it has been immersed in boiling water, to enable it to be
applied exactly to the parts to be treated, nor does it in any way diminish the
rigidity and solidity of the bandage when it becomes cool. Bandages made
according to my invention are therefore more efficacious than ordinary bandages
and more rapid in their application than bandages hitherto employed for the
reduction or setting of fractures and will consequently be of much service in a
military ambulance. These bandages are moreover very economical as they can
be used time after time, care being taken to previously disinfect them by any
ordinary means.
This new method of making bandages can also be applied in those surgical cases
where it is necessary to employ appliances or devices of an unchangeable form.
Appliances or devices of this nature having any suitable covering can be made for
fractures with a sheet of gutta percha covered with a suitable textile fabric which
will give it the requisite strength; the gutta percha being capable of being
softened under the action of heat so as to enable it to be applied exactly to the part
under treatment in order to keep it after cooling in a position absolutely
immovable.
The invention can also be applied to the manufacture of catheters or similar
instruments or appliances of gutta percha. The cracks or fractures which
sometimes occur in these instruments may be prevented by means of a covering
of thin muslin or other similar fabric sufficient to give solidity to the instrument
without at all lessening its suppleness; instruments thus made are much superior

page_text: to what they would be if made of caoutchouc or gutta percha alone, and have all
the advantages of those made of gutta percha without their drawbacks.
Dated this 4th day of March 1893.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bandages and other Surgical
Appliances.
I, EUGENE MARIUS DESPREZ of 16 Rue Drouot, Paris, France, Doctor do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Bandages such as those made of bands or strips of linen or other fabric answer
very well for dressing sores or wounds but are not satisfactory when fractures have
to be reduced or set as they do not possess the requisite rigidity; and it therefore
becomes necessary either to immerse the bands in a silicate or dextrine solution or
to employ a moulding of plaster. In either case the time occupied in effecting a
dressing of this nature is long and necessitates the patient's resting for a time in a
state of absolute immobility.
Attempts have already been made to remedy this drawback by making use of
bands or strips of gutta percha, caoutchouc or similar material immersed prior to
use in hot water, which gives them great suppleness and facilitates their application;
the bands on cooling assume rapidly the rigidity required for a satisfactory bandage.
The bandages thus made would be perfect if they did not possess the great incor-
venience, when softened by heat, of sticking to the fingers of the operator, and,
especially, of the folds or layers sticking together, thus preventing any further use
of the bands for dressing purposes.
My invention is intended to overcome these objections and consists in making the
bandages by covering gutta percha, caoutchouc or other similar material such as has
hitherto been employed with a suitable supple textile fabric of very large mesh,
offering of itself no resistance, but sufficient to prevent the gutta percha sticking to
the fingers of the operator or the folds of the bandage sticking together so as to
prevent examination. In carrying out the invention the gutta percha or similar
material is first somewhat softened by means of heat; then the covering of textile
fabric is placed upon it and sufficient pressure applied to incorporate the fabric with
the outer part of the gutta percha which again hardens on cooling. The attach-
iment of the fabric to the gutta percha is so complete that they cannot be pulled
apart without considerable force.
This combination of the gutta percha and of the fabric employed does not in any
way interfere with the flexibility of the bandage when it has been immersed in
boiling water to enable it to be applied exactly to the parts to be treated, nor does
it in any way diminish the rigidity and solidity of the bandage when it becomes
cool. Bandages made according to my invention are therefore more efficacious
than ordinary bandages, and more rapid in their application, than bandages hitherto
employed for the reduction or setting of fractures, and will consequently be of
much service in a military ambulance. These bandages are moreover very
economical as they can be used time after time, care being taken to previously
disinfect them by any ordinary means.
This new method of making bandages can also be applied in those surgical cases
where it is necessary to employ appliances or devices of an unchangeable form.
Appliances or devices of this nature can be made for fractures with a sheet of
gutta percha covered in the manner herein before described with a suitable textile
fabric which will give it the requisite strength; the gutta percha being capable of
being softened under the action of heat it can be applied and moulded exactly to

page_text: the part under treatment and will retain its form and position after it has again
cooled and hardened.
The invention can also be applied to the manufacture of catheters or similar
instruments or appliances of gutta percha by softening the gutta percha that con-
stitutes the tube or body of the instrument or appliance, then covering it with thin
muslin or other similar fabric sufficient to give solidity to the instrument without at
all lessening its suppleness, incorporating the muslin with the outer part of the
gutta percha by pressure and then allowing the gutta percha to cool and harden.
Instruments thus made are much superior to what they would be if made of
caoutchouc or gutta percha alone, and have all the advantages of those made of
gutta percha without their drawbacks, such for example as liability to crack.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
In the manufacture of bandages and other surgical appliances, the combination
of gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other similar material with a supple textile fabric
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Dated this 13th day of October 1893.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent.