Post surgical drain facilitator gown

[0001] The present U.S. patent application is a continuation in part from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/808,004 filed May 25, 2006.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates generally to the field of post-surgical garments, and more particularly to a user wearable garment to be worn by a wearer who has undergone a medical procedure such as surgery, for example a mastectomy or axillary node dissection.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] A type of drainage device used in hospitals is a device that suctions and collects fluid from a post-surgical patient's surgery site. Drainage tubing is commonly inserted at surgery sites near the patient's underarm area, near the breast or near the patient's thigh area. The drain allows for the collection of fluid until the patient's body is able to reabsorb the fluid on its own. The drain also allows for the measurement of the amount of fluid draining from the patient's body, an important indicator as to whether the patient is hemorrhaging or experiencing a clot. For these reasons, health care professionals closely monitor the amount of fluid draining into a drain bulb.

[0006] The complete drainage reservoir assembly comprises drainage tubing which is inserted into the patient's surgery site at one end and is attached to a drainage bulb at the other end, allowing fluid to travel from the patient's body into the drainage bulb. A drainage assembly is often secured to a standard hospital gown by feeding the tubing through an opening of the gown and pinning the drainage reservoir bulb to the exterior portion of the gown. As the drainage bulb fills with fluid, it becomes heavier and harder to secure to a standard hospital gown. Often the weight of the drain drags the hospital gown downward, causing the ties securing the patient's gown to loosen or come undone. Also, the pin may detach from the gown causing the drain to come loose. This is extremely dangerous for a post-surgical patient for at least two reasons.

[0007] First, if the drainage reservoir assembly separates from the hospital gown the drainage reservoir bulb may drop on the ground and become exposed to a non-sterile environment. Exposure of the drainage reservoir assembly to a non-sterile environment may lead to infection in the patient. This is especially true for a patient who has just experienced surgery and has an open surgical site.

[0008] Second, fluid may spill from the drainage reservoir bulb so that the patient's healthcare provider is unable to monitor how much fluid is collecting in the drainage reservoir bulb. The amount of fluid collecting in the drainage reservoir bulb is an important indicator as to how much fluid the patient is absorbing. Often high fluid levels indicate that a patient may be hemorrhaging, whereas low fluid levels indicate that a patient may be experiencing a clot. If the drain assembly becomes loose and fluid spills from the drain bulb the patient's doctor or nurse may be unable to determine whether the patient is hemorrhaging or clotting.

[0009] Each and every other patent and patent application mentioned in this disclosure, to include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,429,593; 5,643,233; 5,980,499; 6,032,289; 6,574,800; 7,010,812; 7,073,204; and 6,524,288, are incorporated in their entirety and for all purposes in the present patent application and this disclosure. Other U.S. patents have suggested approaches for supporting fluid drainage devices. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,233, U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,593, U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,499, U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,288, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,593. While these devices do serve to support a fluid drainage assembly, the devices are meant for wear underneath clothing. The wearer must partially or completely disrobe to access the fluid drainage devices. In a hospital setting, it is important to facilitate access to the fluid drainage devices so that health care providers may rapidly and frequently assess a patient's fluid absorption. If the fluid drainage assembly is difficult to access, then there may be a risk that the fluid drainage assembly will be examined less frequently and changes in fluid absorption may go unnoticed.

[0010] Other U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,812, suggest approaches for supporting fluid drainage devices on the outside of the garment. However, these devices only support the fluid drainage device near the wearer's breast region. It is important that the fluid drainage reservoir not be too elevated in comparison to the wearer's surgical site and drainage tubing. The elevated placement of the fluid drainage reservoir may inhibit the flow of fluid from the surgical site into the fluid drainage bulb. This decreases the efficacy of the medical drainage device and increases the risk of infection in the patient.

[0011] Other U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,800, suggest approaches for supporting fluid drainage devices on the outside of the garment with lower fluid drainage device support. However, these devices are configured for home recovery and do not possess a pocket cloth which is partly fixed to the garment fabric and partly detachably coupled. Without a pocket that is partly detachably coupled to the garment fabric, the device does not provide the same ease of access to the medical drainage device that is important in a hospital setting. A partly detachably coupled pocket cloth facilitates ease of access to the drainage reservoir bulb so that the drainage reservoir bulb is more easily monitored and changed by the wearer or a healthcare provider.

[0012] Thus, it is found that the various techniques and configurations commonly employed for supporting a fluid drainage device fail to meet the needs of a patient in a hospital setting. There is therefore a long felt need to provide methods and systems that support the use of bodily fluid reservoirs. The present invention meets a long felt need for a garment that facilitates access to the fluid drainage device, and secures and supports the fluid drainage device which reduces, minimizes, or eliminates the risk of the fluid drainage device coming into contact with a non-sterile environment or spilling fluid.

[0013] Towards this object and other objects that will be made obvious in light of this disclosure, the method of the present invention provides a garment that supports the use of a bodily fluid reservoir. The present invention provides an improved drainage reservoir support garment which secures and supports drainage reservoirs and other fluid reservoir assemblies without the aid of pins or tape. The present invention is directed to a garment including a pocket cloth or set of pocket cloths attached to a fabric sheet. The pocket cloths may be attached to the fabric at locations close to or covering apertures in the fabric of the gown. The apertures may be large enough to receive drainage tubing approximately 1 cm thick and a drainage reservoir bulb approximately 10 cm in diameter and allow drainage tubing to be fed from the wearer's surgical area through the opening of the garment and into the interior of the pocket cloth securing the drainage reservoir or other fluid reservoir. The pocket cloths may be secured to the body of the garment in a manner which allows a portion of the pocket cloth to be partly fixed to the fabric, such as but not limited to partly sewing or gluing the pocket cloth to the fabric of the garment, and a portion of the pocket cloth to be detachably coupled to the fabric with at least one releasable fastener, such as but not limited to snaps, buttons, ties, hook and loop, and zippers. Thus, a portion of the pocket cloth may be in certain embodiments decoupled from the body, allowing for easier access to the a drainage bulb.

[0014] In certain preferred alternate embodiments, the pocket cloths are sufficient in size to accommodate a drainage reservoir bulb approximately 10 cm in diameter. The present invention facilitates access to the drainage reservoir assembly by allowing access to the assembly from the exterior of the garment in certain still alternate preferred embodiments. Because the pocket cloths are partly detachably coupled, a portion of the pocket cloth may rapidly and effortlessly be opened and the drainage reservoir assembly quickly examined or changed. In a hospital setting, the drainage reservoir assembly may need to be examined and changed frequently by the wearer or healthcare provider. Facilitating ease of access to the drainage reservoir assembly ensures that the drainage reservoir assemblies are frequently monitored which in turn minimizes risk of infection to the wearer.

[0015] Pocket cloths may be attached near both the wearer's chest region and the wearer's thigh region. Incisions may exist at either location on the wearer's body. By locating the pocket cloth lower on the garment near the wearer's thigh region, fluid from a lower incision site on the wearer's body does not need to travel upwards against gravity to an elevated location on the garment. This facilitates drainage and minimizes the risk of infection.

[0016] By securing and supporting fluid reservoirs with the pocket cloth rather than with pins or tape, the present invention reduces, minimizes, or eliminates the risk of the drainage assembly from coming into contact with a non-sterile environment. The present invention may also reduce, minimize, or eliminate the risk of fluid spilling from the drainage bulb.

[0017] Certain yet alternate preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method of providing a garment having a pocket configured for securing a fluid reservoir, comprising a tubing aperture, the tubing aperture enabling placement and removal of the fluid reservoir through the interior side of the garment; coupling a fluid reservoir to a wearer's body; and placing the fluid reservoir through the tubing aperture, whereby a tubing extends through the tubing aperture.

[0023] The accompanying drawings are referenced in conjunction with the detailed description so that the present invention may be more readily understood. The present invention provides a user wearable garment 10 capable of securing and storing drainage reservoirs for a post operative wearer.

[0024] The garment 10 comprises a fabric sheet with a front side 11 and a back side 16, a head opening and two arm openings. The body of the garment is large enough to loosely fit around a torso region of a wearer's body and extend to about the knee region of the wearer's body. The garment 10 is detachably coupled around the wearer's body so that the wearer may easily put on and remove the garment.

[0025] The pocket cloths 12 are attached to the fabric at locations close to or covering apertures 15 in the fabric of the gown. The apertures 15 are within a range of 0 cm to 15 cm and are large enough to receive drainage tubing approximately 1 cm thick and a drainage reservoir bulb approximately 10 cm in diameter and allow drainage tubing to be fed from the wearer's surgical area through the opening of the garment and into the interior of the pocket cloth 12 securing a drainage reservoir or other suitable fluid reservoir known in the art. The pocket cloths 12 are sufficient in size to accommodate a drainage reservoir bulb approximately 10 cm in diameter and the length and width of the pocket cloths 12 is within a range of 0 cm to 20 cm.

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a user wearable garment made of a fabric sheet. This embodiment shows the front side 11 of the garment. The garment has a head opening, two arm openings, and short sleeves. This embodiment uses releasable fasteners 13 at the top and sides to detachably couple the front side 11 of the garment to the back side 16 of the garment. Although these releasable fasteners 13 are shown as snaps, the releasable fasteners 13 utilized in the present invention could be any suitable releasable closing structures such as but not limited to snaps, buttons, ties, hook and loops, hook and eyes, buckles, and zippers. In this embodiment drainage tubing 20 runs in between a side aperture formed between two releasable fasteners detachably connecting the front side 11 of the garment and the back side 16 of the garment and into a pocket cloth 12.

[0027] In this embodiment, two pocket cloths 12 are located proximate to, e.g. within 20 cm of, the wearer's chest region and two pocket cloths 12 are located proximate to, e.g. within 20 cm of, the wearer's thigh region. Each pocket cloth 12 comprises a piece of material not more than 20 cm long and 20 cm wide sewn to the garment fabric along one side of the pocket cloth 12 and half way across the bottom of the pocket cloth 12. The pocket cloth 12 could be fixed to the fabric by means other than sewing. For example, the pocket cloth 12 could be partly fixed to the fabric using glue. Opposite the side of the pocket cloth 12 partly fixed to the fabric, the pocket cloth is detachably coupled to the fabric of the garment utilizing releasable fasteners 13. In the present embodiment, the releasable fasteners 13 are snaps. In this embodiment, drainage tubing is fed through an aperture between releasable fasteners 13 at the side of the garment and into the lower left pocket formed between the fabric and the pocket cloth 12. A top aperture 17 exists between the garment fabric and the pocket cloth 12.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows the back side 16 of the garment. Releasable fasteners 13 are utilized to secure the front side 11 of the garment to the back side 16. Although these releasable fasteners 13 are shown as snaps, the releasable fasteners 13 utilized in the present invention could be any suitable releasable closing structures such as but not limited to the group consisting of snaps, buttons, ties, hook and loop, hook and eye, buckles, and zippers. The back side may be comprised of two separate panels including a left panel and a right panel detachably coupled together utilizing releasable fasteners, but this is not the preferred embodiment because the ties often become loose as the weight of the drainage reservoirs in the front increases.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a closer perspective view of the pocket cloth 12 in the closed position. The pocket cloth 12 is partly fixed 14 to the garment by sewing along one side of the pocket cloth 12 and half way across the bottom of the pocket cloth 12. The opposite side of the pocket cloth is detachably coupled to the garment fabric utilizing releasable fasteners 13. This embodiment utilizes snaps, but any suitable releasable closing structures could be used such as but not limited the group consisting of snaps, buttons, ties, hook and loop, hook and eye, buckles, and zippers. A top aperture 17 exists between the garment fabric and the pocket cloth 12.

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a closer perspective view of the pocket cloth 12 in the open position. The pocket cloth 12 is partly fixed 14 to the fabric by sewing along one side of the pocket cloth 12 and half way across the bottom of the pocket cloth. Releasable fasteners 13 are shown along one side of the pocket cloth 12 and along the corresponding side of the garment fabric at an attachment site. An aperture 15 in the garment fabric allows drainage tubing to travel from the wearer's surgical site through the aperture 15 and into the pocket formed between the fabric of the garment and the pocket cloth 12 where the drainage reservoir bulb is stored. This embodiment shows the aperture 15 in the fabric of the garment underneath the pocket cloth, but the aperture 15 could be located proximate to the pocket cloth 12 such as but not limited to directly above the pocket cloth 12. The aperture 15 in the fabric is between 0.5 cm and 12.0 cm in length.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a closer perspective view of the pocket cloth 12 in the closed position. In this embodiment the pocket cloth 12 is partly fixed 14 to the garment fabric by sewing along one side of the pocket cloth 12 and half way across the bottom of the pocket cloth. The opposite side of the pocket cloth is detachably coupled to the garment fabric utilizing releasable fasteners 13. The aperture 15 in the garment fabric is located directly above the pocket cloth 12. The drainage tubing for the drainage reservoir assembly extends from the wearer's body though the aperture and down into the pocket formed between the garment fabric and the pocket cloth 12 to the drainage reservoir bulb. A top aperture 17 exists between the garment fabric and the pocket cloth 12. An insertable rigid shield 19 surrounds the drainage reservoir bulb. An elastic material 18 forms the top of the pocket cloth 12 so that the top portion of the pocket cloth 12 may retract more than the bottom portion of the pocket cloth 12.

[0032] The garment is constructed of a breathable material utilizing but not limited to cotton or fabric blend material. In one preferred embodiment, the garment may be constructed of material comprising 55% cotton and 45% polyester. The fabric must provide the necessary support to hold a full drainage reservoir bulb.

[0033] While the invention has been described with reference to preferred and example embodiments, other variations and modifications within the scope of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art. Such variations are included within the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the following claims.