Patent ID: 8062272

Claim:
An appliance for administering reduced pressure treatment to a wound on a body, the appliance comprising: an impermeable flexible overlay sized to be placed over and enclose an area of the wound to be treated and adapted to receive a supply of reduced pressure and to maintain reduced pressure in a volume under the overlay in the area of the wound; wherein the overlay has a base end opening, a port, a perimeter edge adjacent to the base end opening, and an interior surface configured to face the area of the wound to be treated; the interior surface has interior surface portions positioned around and adjacent to the perimeter edge; the surface area of the interior surface is greater than the surface area of the portion of the body to be enclosed by the overlay; and the overlay has sufficient rigidity such that, before reduced pressure has been supplied to the overlay, the interior surface portions form an acute angle relative to the body, and such that the port is held away from the wound so as to define the volume under the overlay when the overlay is placed over and encloses the area of the wound; reduced pressure supply means to operably connect the port of the overlay to a reduced pressure supply source that provides the supply of reduced pressure to the overlay, so that the volume under the overlay in the area of the wound to be treated is supplied with reduced pressure by the reduced pressure supply source; wherein the overlay is adapted to collapse in the approximate direction of the area of the wound to be treated when reduced pressure is supplied to the volume under the overlay in the area of the wound; the overlay is adapted so that such collapse draws the interior surface portions tightly against the body so as to increase the surface area of the interior surface portions that are in contact with the body, the collapse causing the formation of an approximately hermetic seal between at least the interior surface portions of the overlay and the body in the area of the wound without the need for an adhesive; and at least one fold forms in the overlay when the overlay collapses.