US2980110A - Surgical splint and bandage - Google Patents

Description

April 1961 R. s. BRUMFIELD ETAL 2,980,110

SURGICAL SPLINT AND BANDAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 28, 1955 IN VENTOR RICHARD s. ERUMF/ELD W/LLIAM f2. FERGUSON M ATTORNEY April 1961 R. s. BRUMFIELD ET AL 2,980,110

SURGICAL SPLINT AND BANDAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1955 Quip | I no mmooo hm o A mill] IN VENTOR RICH/4RD S. BRUMF/ELD WILL/AM IE. FERGUSON ATTORNEY J port material;

SURGICAL SPLINT AND BANDAGE Richard S. Brumfield, Edgewood, and William R. Ferguson, 600 W. Belvedere Ave., Baltimore 10, Md.

Filed Feb. 28, 19 55, Ser. No. 491,012

4 Claims. (Cl. 12887) This invention relates to-a support material for surgical use.

There are numerous occasions when it becomes necessary to apply temporary support to various parts of the human body. Since many of these occasions are of emergency nature, the support in addition to being efiective, must be capable of being conformedtothe particular part of the human anatomy required to be supported. Consequently it must be universally adaptable in size to accommodatethe various locations to which it is to be applied and the various sizes of individuals.

There are a number of other desirable features in such devices besides the essential ones previously set out. Since the material is to' be kept stored against an emergency, it must not deteriorate readily. It must keep in substantially sterile form. The comfort of the patient must be kept in mind so that the support does not add further to the discomfort. As devices of this kind are frequently left in contact with the human body for considerable periods of time, it must be susceptible of effective cleansing. All of these requirements have been satisfied in our invention. Specifically our invention consists of a heavy plastic sheet slotted and notched to enable it to be conformed to a variety of parts of the human body while afiording a controlled degree of support. The portion interfering with the human anatomy may be cut away and the resultant flexible sheet may be wholly or partially covered with textile material to cushion the same and adapt it to be drawn about the memher to be supported. The manner and degree of slotting and notching maybe variedac'cording to character and degree of-support required. Our invention may best be understood by reference-to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of one form of the basic support material;

' Figures 2 to 4 are similar to Figure 1 showing modified forms of support material;

Figure 5-shows one type of support with portions of the outer covering broken away to show the inner sup- Figure 6 is a cross-section taken on the line 66 of Figure 5;

1 Figure 7 shows a modified form of support with portions broken away as in Figure 5;

-Fig. 8 shows another modification;

Figure 9 is an end view taken along the lines Figure 8;

- Figure 10 is a plan view of another modification of our invention; and

Figure 11 is an enlarged view of one of the details of Figure 10.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in.Figure IV a fiat plastic sheet 10. While the chemical nature of the plastic is not the significant part of this invention, acom'paratively ,wide selection of materials is available. .The material chosen must bestifi without being brittlepnd fiexiblewithout being soft. Typical of satis- 2. factory materials are those of a cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate-butyrate type. They have the advantage of being cleanable with soapy water although they may not be subjected to steam sterilization. The thickness of the material may vary according to the amount of stiff- .ness required in the finished product but for general purposes, thickness from .08 to .12 inch has proven quite satisfactory.

Extending inwardly toward the center line 11 of the sheet from the edges 13 thereof are slots 12. These slots are spaced apart, one from the next, according to= the stiffness requirements of the splint. Generally, be-- cause the material is to be cut to fit, it is advisable to produce it with slots of uniform spacing. However,

it will be obvious that by varying the spacing, the relative stiffness in some portions of the splint may be effectively controlled. As shown in Figure 1 the inner ends 14 of the slots 12 extend to the far side of the centerline from the edge 13 that they enter. This results. in an overlapping of slots in the center line so that a substantial measure of flexibility is attained.

We find it desirable to round the inner ends 14 of the slots as sharp corners tend to form the starting points of breaks in the material when it is bent too sharply. For ordinary purposes we have found that slots approximately inch in width are quite satisfactory. Additional stiffness at the outer edges appears to result from the use of narrower 'slots while the central flexibility may be maintained with larger sized ends 14. As shown .at 18 the slots may be tapered outwardly to the edges 13, thus allowing for greater flexibility and also greater compressibility.

As shown in Figure 2, the sheet 20 is provided with a series of parallel slots 22 with their ends 24 terminating short of the center line of the strip leaving a central spine 28. This construction is especiallyv desirable where stiffness in one direction as well as support is required. If desired some or all of the slots may be thin as'shown' at 26. Although, as will be pointed out subsequently, direct contact with the flesh is usually prevented by an overlying textile material, it may be desirable to round the edges 23 betweenthe slots 22 to additionally add to the comfort of the device.

Where larger areas are involved we find the construe tion shown in Figure 3 to be advantageous. Along the: edges 36 of the sheet 30 slots 32 extend inwardly only' part of the distance toward the center line 31. The slots are arranged in pairs and alternated between each pair of internal slots 33 extending out from the center line but not as far as the edge 36 of the sheet. Thus the'ends 34 of the external slots and the ends 35 of the internal slots alternate in a manner similar to the ends short of the edges 43 leaving margins 48 along each edge. 7

According to the needs of the case, any one of the constructions 10, 20, 30 or 40 may be incorporated into 1 a bandage, or other construction suited toemergency requirements. Thus, as shown in Figure 5, a spinal support may be formed by introducing into a piece of tubular stockinet 50, a suitable length of splint 10. One or both ends of the material may be passed several times through slots 52in fiatbuckle 54 advantageously also Patented Apr. 18, 1961 made of fiat plastic material and the support secured in place by means of tapes (not shown) passed through small slots 56 in the buckles 54.

The exact length of splint material is chosen and cut off by means of heavy bandage shears, preferably by extending one of the slots across to the far edge 13. The support is easily and quickly made to fit the individual patient in such manner that -his.exact needs are cared for but from a comparatively small stock of basic materials that need to be kept on hand. H s

For a firm support or brace, a flat section of material such as 40 may be encased in a piece of stockinet 60 as shown in Figure 7, and the ends thereof closed by one or two lines of stitching 62. It has also been found that satisfactory results can be obtained by folding the end of the textile material over andsecuring it by adhesive. For securing purposes, a pair of tapes 64 may be sewn by means of the same seam 62, used to secure the end of the textile. Where the covering material 60 is of tubular knit goods, the natural elasticity of this fabric, causes it to generally follow the contours of the enclosed splint so that, if it is desired to cut or trim these to suit the requirements of the patient, the outer covering will closely conform itself to the enclosed splint.

An eifective head and neck brace canbe prepared in a very short time as shown in Figure 8. A highly resilient cushion made up of several layers of stockinet material 70 is made up of a flat base 72 with side flaps 73 folded over along the length thereof and stitched at the ends at 74. At intermediate points a series of cooperating snap elements 75 may be secured, the one half to the base material and the other half to the side flaps 73. The fasteners 75 may be conveniently received in slots 29 of the splint material 20. A relatively non-extensible tape 76 may be used for securing the splint. inet material is sufiiciently soft to pad the neck and throat while the individual teeth 25 of the split 20 are flaredoutwardly, the upper ones to support the head and the lower ones to rest on the chest and shoulders of the patient. Those that project out too far may be easily-trimmed off of the desired length, yet the padding will be conformed to the splint easily.

As shown in Figure 10, a surgical corset may be fashioned from the'material of this invention. One or more sheets of splint material 30 may be employed to encircle the body and if more than one is required, the two sheets are lapped at adjacent ends and secured together by means of two or more tubular rivets 80'. Upper and lowertextile members are used, consisting of a body contacting layer 82. and an outer fiap'84 folded from the same piece of goods. The two flaps 82 and 84 are held to each other by lines of stitching 86 at the ends and at various intervals along the length arranged to coincide with slots 32. The textilematerial may be firmly yet adjustably held to the splint'by means of glove fastener elements 88 secured at intervals to the base, textile 82. The fastener elements 88 may be snapped into any one of a row of holes 90 to draw the pockets in the textile material close up against the'edge 36 of the splint sheet.

At least one strap or tape 92 is threaded through slots 94 in the splint itself and at least one relatively nonextensible strap 96 is sewn to the textile material 84 to draw the corset about the body of the patient. If desired, buckles 98 may be provided on straps 92. and 96 to hold the straps in place.

It will be readily appreciated that the stocka Under present practice, when a patient requires a sur gical corset, it is necessary for the surgeon to send the patient to a corsetiere, who must usually measure the patient and have the corset made upbefore the patient can try it on. Thus thereis at least the delay in movement involved in traveling from the surgeons office to the corset makers oflice plus usually a loss of time involved in-making up the corset itself. During this time it is almost inevitable that the patients condition will have 4. changed materially between the time when. it is determined he needs the support and the time when the corset is first placed on him. By way of contrast, the doctor in his own office may cut out portions 100 from the edges of the corset to conform the same to the hips and arm pit holes of the patient and if required, he may make additional openings in the splint member for any convenient purpose. He may also employ additional padding wherever required and having made such allowances he can drawthe straps as tightly as required, changing their direction according to the needs of the patient. He has thus produced at less expense than is ordinarily involved in the manufacture of a custom fitted corset, provided a fully equivalent device from the point of view of service and in addition, by making the fitting in his own ofiice, at the time the patient requires the support, provided a device that is greatly superior because it has been fitted exactly to the patient at the exact time that the physician has the patient under his care. Because the corset may be cut to fit any size of patient and because it may be shaped to fit the requirements of any patient, it puts a substantial new weapon in the hands of the surgeon to enable him to treat a large class of orthopaedic patients. 7 V

A comparatively small supply of a variety of splint and textile material will enable the surgeon to prepare a large selection of splints, bandages, corsets, and braces according to the character of cases that come to him. Varying degrees of firmness and flexibility are provided, through the selection of slots and their spacing. Very large structures can be arranged by riveting two or more pieces of splint material together and in the event that additional rigidity is required at a single point or along a predetermined line, such rigidity can be obtained by riveting an additional layer of splint material in the area desired. For the most part, no additional apparatus is required to be kept in the doctors office, for handling this material as the doctor always has a'large selection of scissors for cutting the material down to size. In the event that riveting becomes necessary, the apparatus required additionally is of small'consequence. The cost of a corset formed inaccordance with the teaching of our invention is relatively much less than the cost of a professionally fitted device of equivalent character. Thus the patient gains in every way from our invention.

In the claims, the slots 12, 22, 32,, 33, 37 to 39', 42, etc. are designated by this inclusive term. Those slots entering from an edge of the sheet are more specifically designated as notches. Also, regardless of the relative proportions of the base sheet 10, etc., that dimension in which the center line 11, etc., is found, is treated as the longitudinal dimension.

We claim:

1'. A surgical'supportin'g device adapted to be-fitted'to the patient including a splint po'rt'ionof sufficient length to encircle the largest of an expected groupo'f b'ody members and of greater Width than is required by at least some of the members to be fitted, said splint including a plurality of slots extending on each side of a centerline running the length of the splint, said slots having rounded ends and being of substantial width, at least some of said slots being wider in the center-portion than at the ends thereof, additional slots extending inwardly from the edges of the splint and generally parallel to said first mentioned slots, said splint being adapted to be cut in length to fit the patient and being adapted to be trimmed along its edges to suit the patients needs, a tape adapted to compressthe device about the bodyme'mber, means for holding the tape-against vertical movement Whilepermitting it to be drawn tight, textile means for enclosing the edges of the splint and drawing the sameabout the patients body memberincludin'g a pair of strips, one for each edge of the splint, each said strip including a relatively non-extensible strip folded: lengthwise and secured, as by stitching, at its ends-to form amelongatedpoeket to enclose the ends of the splint, the two plies of the pocket being stitched together to form subdivisions of the principal pocket, the lines of stitching coinciding with the edgewise slots, cooperating means on the textile strip and the splint for holding the splint within the pockets of the strip and means secured to the strip for holding the same firmly about the body member.

2. A surgical corset adapted to be fitted to the patient including a splint portion of sufficient length to encircle the largest of an expected group of patients and of greater width than is required by atleast some of the patients to be fitted, said splint including a plurality of slots extending on each side of a centerline running the length of the splint,.said slots having rounded ends and being of substantial width,.additional slots extending in- Wardly from the edges of the splint and generally parallel to said first mentioned slots, said splint being adapted to be cut in length to fit the patient and being adapted to be trimmed along its edges to suit the patients needs, a tape adapted to compress the corset about the patient, means for holding the tape against vertical movement while permitting it to be drawn tight, textile means for enclosing the edges of the splint and drawing the same about the patients body including a pair of strips, one for each edge of the splint, each said strip including a relatively non-extensible strip folded lengthwise and secured, as by stitching, at its ends to form an elongated pocket to enclose the ends of the splint, the two plies of the pocket being stitched together to form subdivisions of the principal pocket, the lines of stitching coinciding with the edgewise slots, cooperating means on the textile strip and the splint for holding the splint within thepockets of the strip and means for holding the same firmly about the body.

3. A surgical corset adapted to be fitted to the patient including a splint portion, said splint including a plurality of slots extending on each side of a centerline running the length of the splint, said slots having rounded ends and being of substantial width, at least some of said slots being wider in the center portion than at the ends thereof, additional slots extending inwardly from the edges of the splint and generally parallel to said first mentioned slots, said splint being adapted to be cut in length to fit the patient and being adapted to be trimmed along its edges to suit the patients needs, a tape adapted to compress the corset about the patient, means for holding the tape against vertical movement while permitting it to be drawn tight, textile means for enclosing the edges of the splint and drawing the same about the patients body including a pair of strips, one for each edge of the splint, each said strip including a relatively non-extensible strip folded lengthwise and secured, as by stitching, at

its ends to form an elongated pocket to enclose the ends of the splint, the two plies of the pocket being stitched together to form subdivisions of the principal pocket, the lines of stitching coinciding with the edgewise slots, cooperating means on the textile strip and the splint for holding the splint Within the pockets of the strip and means for holding the same firmly about the body.

4. A surgical corset adapted to be fitted to'the patient including a splint portion, said splint including a plu-' rality of slots extending on each side of a centerline running the length of the splint, said slots having rounded ends and being of substantial width, additional slots extending inwardly from the edges of the splint and generally parallel to said first mentioned slots, said splint being adapted to be cut in length to fit the patient and being adapted to be trimmed along its edges to suit the patients needs, a tape adapted to compress the corset about the patient, means for holding the tape against vertical movement While permitting it to be drawn tight, textile means for enclosing the edges of the splint and drawing the same about the patients body including a pair of strips, one for each edge of the splint, each said strip including a relatively non-extensible strip folded lengthwise and secured, as by stitching, at its ends to form an elongated pocket to enclose the ends of the splint, the two plies of the-pocket being stitched together to form subdivisions of the principal pocket, the lines of stitching coinciding with the edgewise slots, partial fastening means on the textile strip and a plurality of cooperating means on the splint for selectively holding the splint within the pockets of the strip and means for holding the same firmly about the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Orthopaedic Appliance Atlas, published by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1952, page 143.

(Copy in Scientific Library.)

Orthopaedic Appliance Atlas, published by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1952, page 223;

(Copy in Scientific Library.)

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