Patent ID: 8142472

Claim:
A low-cost tourniquet cuff apparatus for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location on the limb, comprising: a first sheet formed of gas-impervious flexible material that includes a first thermoplastic polymer; a second sheet formed of gas-impervious material that is positioned facing the first sheet and that includes a second thermoplastic polymer; a gas-tight peripheral seal joining the first sheet directly to the second sheet around a perimeter of those sheets to form an inflatable bladder within the perimeter, wherein the bladder has a length; securing means adapted to allow surgical staff to encircle the cuff apparatus around the limb at a desired location on the limb so that the bladder overlaps upon itself; a stiffener fitting inside the bladder and sized to extend substantially the length of the bladder but not the entire bladder length, and to fit completely within the peripheral seal, the stiffener having a hole therethrough and including a first stiffener surface facing the first sheet and formed of a material that includes a thermoplastic polymer, wherein the polymers of the first stiffener surface and the first sheet are selected to have physical properties that facilitate welding together, and wherein the first stiffener surface is welded to the first sheet within the bladder and away from the peripheral seal; barrier means contained within the bladder and adapted to prevent welding between the stiffener and the second sheet; and a tubular port for directing gas into the bladder from a tourniquet instrument to which the port may be releasably connected, the port defining a passageway therethrough and including a flange made of a thermoplastic polymer that is compatible with the first thermoplastic polymer for welding the flange to the first sheet, and wherein the flange is welded to the first sheet between the first sheet and the stiffener and with the passageway of the port aligned with the hole through the stiffener.