Patent ID: 7429687

Claim:
A medical dressing for mounting over a wound in a patient, the dressing comprising: (a) a flexible panel having an inner surface and an outer surface and defining an opening therethrough, the panel having adhesive on the inner surface for attaching the panel to the skin of the patient; and (b) a one-way valve assembly mounted to the panel across the opening in the panel, the valve assembly having a valve body defining a first passage through the body, the assembly further comprising a valve member configured to permit air and or/other fluids to flow through the first passage in only an outward direction of the valve, so that, in use, air and/or other fluids are able to exit the wound through the first passage but are prevented from entering the wound through the first passage, the valve body further defining a second passage through the body, the valve assembly comprising a removable closure member for selectively closing the second passage to prevent fluid flow through the second passage.