Patent ID: 8710289

Claim:
A dressing for covering a wound of a patient, comprising: a sheet member adapted to be adhered to the patient's skin in use to provide an airtight seal around the wound, wherein the sheet member is adapted to be spaced apart from the skin in the region of the wound to define in use a space above the wound, and a plurality of mutually spaced-apart flutter valves permitting one-way air, blood and/or other fluid flow communication from the space above the wound to the exterior of the dressing, wherein the sheet member is a multilayer sheet member comprising a first layer nearest the patient's skin in use and at least one additional layer overlying at least a portion of the first layer on the major face thereof directed away from the patient's skin in use, and wherein the first layer is skin-adhesive on the major face that is directed towards the patient's skin in use, and an aperture is provided in the first layer, so that the first layer can surround the wound, but not adhere to it, when the first layer is positioned on the patient's skin to surround the wound and adheres to the patient's skin around the wound to provide an airtight seal to the skin around the wound.