Surgical Drape and Method of Making a Surgical Drape

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a surgical drape and method of making a surgical drape suitable for surgery, the center portion of which is formed of a nonwoven material and which has transparent side or lower portions connected to opposite sides of the nonwoven material for the purpose of allowing viewing of instruments or other apparatuses and control mechanisms beneath a table which may be utilized, for example, in surgery.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior art surgical drapes are known and are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,860 which discloses a surgical drape which includes a main sheet of flexible material having an inner surface for facing toward a patient after placement of the drape, and an outer surface facing away from the patient after displacement of the drape. The drape has a pair of pockets on the outer surface of the main sheet and includes an outer edge defining an opening of the pockets which face towards each other. This drape has the drawback, however, of not allowing for viewing of instruments or other apparatuses and control mechanisms which would be normally located beneath the surgical table. This can possibly lead to difficulties in terms of operation of control mechanisms during surgery or locating apparatuses which are of assistance to the surgeon or the surgeon's support staff during surgery.

One object of the present invention is to provide a drape for performing surgical procedures on a patient's body which includes a sheet portion for placement on a patient lying on a surgical table, the sheet portion having a first and second side edge, and a transparent side portion connected to at least one of opposed first and second side edges of the sheet portion for allowing viewing of an area beneath the table to assist the surgeon and/or the surgeon's support staff during surgery.

A further object of the invention is to provide the sheet portion with a reinforced portion and an elongated or longitudinally extending fenestration formed in the reinforced portion. The fenestration allows a specific area of the patient to be exposed for a variety of surgical procedures.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a surgical drape wherein the reinforced portion has fluid collecting pockets, pouches or troughs formed at least along one side of the reinforced portion or the fenestration formed in the reinforced portion to catch fluid runoff from the surgical site would otherwise obscure the visibility characteristics of the transparent side portions if the fluid were allowed to drain off from the table.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide a sheet portion which is T-shaped so as to fit over an operating table which has armboards and to provide a sheet which may have a slit portion at one end thereof which allows for an extremity of a patient to be exposed therethrough for a surgical procedure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drape which has a nonwoven material portion which includes a reinforced portion for covering a portion of a patient to be operated on or to provide a nonwoven material portion of the sheet which includes a reinforced portion wherein an elongated or longitudinally extending slit is formed in the reinforced portion.

Lastly, a yet further object of the invention is to provide a sheet wherein a nonwoven material portion thereof includes a reinforced portion, a slit formed in the reinforced portion and fluid collecting means located on the reinforced portion and positioned along at least one side of the slit.

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention showing a surgical drape with clear or transparent sides;

FIG. 2 illustrates a surgical drape with clear or transparent sides wherein a slit or U-shaped fenestration is formed at one end of the drape;

FIG. 3 illustrates an additional embodiment of the invention which utilizes a surgical drape having clear or transparent sides in addition to a reinforced surgical fenestration;

FIG. 4 shows a surgical drape having transparent sides in combination with a reinforced surgical fenestration that incorporates pockets for the collection of fluid runoff;

FIG. 5 illustrates a drape having a T-shape for being placed on a surgical table having armboards, the drape including clear or transparent sides and arm portions to cover the armboards;

FIG. 6 illustrates a drape similar to that of FIG. 5 but which includes a split or U-shaped fenestration at one end thereof;

FIG. 7 shows a surgical drape similar to that of FIG. 5 but which includes a reinforced surgical fenestration that utilizes pockets for collection of fluid runoff from a surgical site;

FIG. 8 shows a surgical drape similar to that of FIG. 5 but which includes a reinforced surgical fenestration;

FIG. 9 illustrates a surgical drape with a reinforced area for covering part or all of the patient;

FIG. 10 illustrates a surgical drape wherein a slit is provided at one end of a reinforced area so as to allow for an extremity of the patient to be exposed through the slit for a surgical procedure;

FIG. 11 shows a surgical drape having pockets, pouches or troughs located on a reinforced area and which at least partially surround a slit formed in the reinforced area; and

FIG. 12 shows a surgical drape with non-transparent sides.

FIG. 1 illustrates a surgical drape 1 suitable for surgery, the main sheet or center portion 2 of which is made of nonwoven material (i.e., hydroentangled wood pulp/polyester, wet laid wood pulp/polyester, wood pulp, polyester, spunbonded polypropylene or ethylene, spunbonded/meltblown/spunbonded polypropylene, poly amide or other similar materials or combination thereof that are not woven or knitted and do not require converting fibers to yarn) which has side portions 4, 4 attached to the nonwoven center portion 2 on one or both sides thereof. The side portions are those portions of the drape that extend from approximately the upper edge portion of the operating table downwardly to the floor. The side portions are also those portions of the drape along opposite lateral sides of the length dimension of the drape, as compared with the shorter opposed end portions as can be appreciated from a review of FIG. 1. One or both of the side portions 4, 4 are formed of a clear or transparent plastic material (i.e., polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate or other material which is of polymer construction).

It is also to be noted that nonwoven fabrics are broadly defined as including sheet or web structures made by bonding or entangling fibers or filaments (and by perforating films) by mechanical, thermal or chemical means as defined in THE NONWOVENS HANDBOOK of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, pages 9-11, and authored by Dr. Bernard Lichstein copyright 1988.

The transparent side portions 4, 4 are for the purpose of viewing instruments or other apparatuses (i.e., fluid collection suction canisters, urine collection bags, oxygen/nitrous oxide connections) and controls (e.g., foot pedals for changing the table). This allows the surgical staff to observe any area under the table. The clear plastic material could also have physical properties which would be different than those of the nonwoven central portion (i.e., with improved flammability properties or non-flaming characteristics which are not possible in nonwoven material without the use of treatments which can be injurious to areas contacting the skin of a patient).

The side portions 4, 4 are fixedly attached along bonded seams 8, 8 by use of adhesives, glue, heat, tape, ultrasonics or by other suitable means. A surgical drape of the abovenoted description allows for covering part or all of the patient 12. This drape would be used for surgery where the operative site need not be exposed through the drape.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention wherein the surgical drape 1 has a center portion 2 which is made of a nonwoven material as explained in connection with FIG. 1 and which also includes an elongated or longitudinally extending slit or split 3 which has been cut from one end 10 of the drape. This allows for an extremity of the patient to be exposed through the slit for a surgical procedure. This may also be used to expose some portion of the main body area of the patient.

A further embodiment of the surgical drape 1 suitable for surgery is shown in FIG. 3 which illustrates a reinforced area 14 through which an elongated or longitudinally extending fenestration 16 has been cut. The fenestration 16 would allow a specific area of the patient to be exposed for a surgical procedure.

In FIG. 4, a surgical drape as described in FIG. 3 is illustrated but which also includes pockets, pouches or troughs 18 made from any suitable material which is placed is proximity to and is open towards the fenestration 16 to catch fluid runoff from the surgical site which would otherwise obscure the visibility characteristics of the clear side portions 4, 4 if allowed to drain off the table. The pockets 18 are located on opposite sides of the reinforcement 14, may be made from any suitable material and are constructed to catch fluid runoff for removal by appropriate means such as a suction member or drainage line. The pockets 18 can be located on one side, both sides, or can be located so as to be continuous around the fenestration 16.

With regard to the embodiment in FIG. 5, the surgical drape is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 but includes transparent extensions 20, 20 attached to nonwoven portions 2, 2 which cover armboards 22, 22 of the operating table. The armboards are used when it is necessary to extend one or both arms of the patient. The result is that both the surgical drape and the table are of a T-shape.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a surgical drape 1 is shown which corresponds to that illustrated in FIG. 5 but which also includes a slit 3 in addition to the extensions 20, 20 which cover the armboards 22, 22 of the operating table so as to be T-shaped.

A surgical drape is also shown in FIG. 7 which includes structure similar to that shown in FIG. 4 in addition to having armboards 22, 22 and drape extensions 20, 20. That portion of the drape which covers the armboards 22, 22 is preferably of nonwoven material 2.

With regard to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, this illustrates a surgical drape similar to that shown in FIG. 3 but with the addition of armboards 22, 22 and extensions 20, 20 such as described in FIG. 6.

A further embodiment of the surgical drape 1 is shown in FIG. 9 which has a reinforced area 24 for covering part or all of the patient 12. This drape would, for example, be used for surgery where the operational site need not be exposed or would be used when the surgeon cuts an opening through the reinforced portion to expose a surgical site of the patient. In FIG. 10, the surgical drape includes a slit or split 26 which has been cut from one end 11 of the reinforced area 24. This would allow for an extremity of the patient to be exposed through the slit 26 for a surgical procedure. This may also be used to expose a portion of the main body area of the patient 12.

A yet further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 11 which shows a surgical drape which includes one or more pockets, pouches or troughs 18 made from any suitable material for collecting fluid and which is located in proximity to a slit 26 for catching fluid runoff from the surgical site which would otherwise obscure the visibility characteristics of the clear lower portions if allowed to drain off the table. The pockets 18 are constructed to catch fluid runoff for removal by a mechanism such as the suction member or a drainage line previously mentioned. The pockets 18 can be located on one side, both sides or extend continuously around the split 26.

Lastly, FIG. 12 shows an embodiment like that of FIG. 1, but wherein the sides 104 of similar composition to that of sides 4, but which are not transparent. Sides 104 can, of course, be substituted for sides 4 in any of FIGS. 1-11.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.