WO2011070216A1

WO2011070216A1 - Garment for a surgery patient

Info

Publication number: WO2011070216A1
Application number: PCT/FI2009/050986
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaana Holopainen
Original assignee: TELESPRO FINLAND Oy
Current assignee: TELESPRO FINLAND Oy
Priority date: 2009-12-08
Filing date: 2009-12-08
Publication date: 2011-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-08

Abstract

Garment for a surgery patient for keeping the patient warm. The garment is of a coverall type and has legs (1, 2), sleeves (10, 11), and also an upper part equipped with openable closing means, mainly zip fasteners (3,4; 12,13; 14,15). The upper part of the garment is equipped with zip fasteners on both the chest side (14, 15) and the back side (16, 17).

Description

Garment for a surgery patient

The present invention relates to a garment for a surgery patient and more specifically to a multi-purpose garment used in a hospital environment to keep a patient warm.

Surgery patients are generally dressed in hospital clothes, usually either tricot pyjamas or an open shirt. Ambulatory patents may have a dressing gown in addition. The materials of patients' garments are cotton-polyester mixtures, with dressing gowns being of cotton. The pyjamas are of a loose model, with open sleeves and legs, so that they do little to warm their wearer. The open shirt is entirely open at the back and its intended mainly to protect privacy. The care process of a surgery patent, which includes moving the patient, anaesthetics, preparations for surgery, and surgical operations, causes the patient's body temperature to drop and can lead to very unpleasant chilly feelings for the patient in the recovery stage, as well as poor recovery from the operation. Attempts are made to prevent this drop in temperature using covers and warming the patient during the operation, with the aid of, for example, warm-air blowers or a heatable mattress. Besides such measures requiring special arrangements and devices, they also demand a power source, so that they cannot be move with the patient from the operating theatre to the recovery room. A garment, which consists of two layers, between which it is intended to blow warm air, in order to keep a patient warm, is known from US application publication 2006/0047332. The garment is mainly like a dress. Besides the garment being very difficult to use in a sensible manner when it is intended to perform surgical or other operations on various parts of the patient's body, the garment requires a separate heater system, which is an additional cost and which also requires a heat source that can be moved along with it.

Garments equipped with various openable zip fasteners, which are used, for instance to dress dementia patients without the patients being able to take the garments off themselves, are also known. Garments are also known, which can be used generally as hospital clothes, and in which dressing and undressing is facilitated with the aid of zip fasteners. On the basis of present knowledge, if it is wished to keep a surgery patient warm with the aid of only clothes, the result would be garments that would make many operations impossible, because, in order expose the part of body to be operated on, the garment would have to be removed entirely. According to the prior art, there is also a lack of a garment that would permit one and the same garment to be used to easily expose many surgery locations on different sides of the body/limbs, while nevertheless effectively thermally covering the other parts of the surgery patient. The aforementioned and other advantages and benefits of the present invention are achieved in the manner described as characteristic in the accompanying claims.

In the following, the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show one embodiment of the invention, which has been found to be good and has been tested.

Figure 1 shows the garment according to the invention seen from directly in front; Figure 2 shows a rear view of the same garment;

Figure 3, for its part, shows a side view of the garment;

Figures 4 - 31 show numerous examples of how the garment according to the invention is used when operating on a patient from different sides.

In brief, the thermal garment for a surgery patient is designed to keep the patient warm during the entire operation process: the patient is dressed in the garment when they arrive for an operation, e.g. in the ward prior to premedication, or in a day-case surgery unit, and is used when moving from one ward to another, during preparation for surgery, during the operation, in the recovery room, and when returning to the ward, or until the patient is sent home. The type of the garment is a coverall, in which the area required for the operation can be exposed by opening the necessary zip fasteners. Thus, the rest of the patient's body remains protected by the thermal garment and there is no unnecessary loss of heat. In the coverall, there are many openable locations, for the opening/closing of which various kinds of attachment means, such as zip fasteners and Velcro strips are used. Despite being able to be opened, the coverall is nevertheless a single totality that remains entire and from which parts cannot be separately detached. This construction is sensible, because separable pieces would make it difficult to use, while in washing, for example, pieces could be destroyed or misplaced.

In the following, the construction is described with reference to Figures 1 - 3, and later various kind of use situations are described with reference to the figures from number 4 on.

Thus, Figures 1 - 3 show front, rear, and side views of the garment according to the invention. The legs 1 and 2 of the garment are equipped essentially up to the waistline with zip fasteners or similar means 3 and 4, with the aid of which the legs can be opened from a selected direction, either from the cuff of the leg towards the waist, from the waist towards the cuff, or from both directions towards the other, as required. The zip fasteners in the legs can also be of a type that can be opened completely. The legs can also be separated entirely from each other by using an openable attachment means 5, particularly a completely opening zip fastener. By opening this zip fastener, the legs can be separated from each other. However, the legs remains attached to the rest of the coverall, because they are permanently attached to the upper part of the coverall at the sides.

At the waist, in front there is a Velcro attachment 6, which is an attachment means that is clearly easier to use in this specific place. At the ribs, there are further adjustment Velcro strips 7 and 8, which can be tightened to make the loose garment fit the body.

As Figure 2 clearly shows, at the back of there coverall there is, for example, an elastic-band adjustment, the band being located in a channel 9. If desired, the elastic-band adjustment can be combined with the Velcro adjustments 7 and 8.

As stated, the coverall is a totality, of which the upper and lower parts, in practice the legs 1 and 2, are permanently attached to each other at the sides.

The arms 10 and 11 are equipped with means, particularly zip fasteners 12 and 13, which are double-slider zips like the leg zips, and can thus be opened from either or both ends of the fastener. In the same way, the upper part of the coverall is equipped on both the front and the back with zip fasteners, 14 and 15 on the front and 16 and 17 at the back. At least one of the chest-side zip fasteners can also be an open fastener, which thus opens entirely and thus allows the parts it secures to be separated completely (see Figures 25 and 26), in order to expose the chest. The garment includes a pocket 18 located, for example, in the sleeve 10, which can be made from the same material as the rest of the garment, or can be transparent. The patient can use the pocket to hold small personal belongings. For example, the key to a locker holding their personal belongings. Of course, patient records or other information can easily be placed in the pocket, if required. They will be readily available and need never be sought for elsewhere.

As can clearly be seen from the above description, with the aid of the garment according to the invention, many different operations can be peformed on a patient, without the entire garment having to be taken off. Only the area to be operated on is exposed, leaving the rest of the body protected inside the warm garment. The thermal garment according to the invention can be used through the entire care chain: the patient is dressed in the garment when they arrive for surgery, for example, in the ward prior to premedication, or in the day-case surgery unit. It is used during preparation for surgery, during surgery, in the recovery room, and when returning to the ward. The thermal garment is removed when it is no longer required to keep the patient warm.

As stated, because the parts of the coverall are not intended to separate from each other and be lost, for example, during washing, the pieces of the coverall are intended to remain together in some manner. Thus, the pieces of the coverall, which are joined by means of zip fasteners surrounding the parts on both sides, are secured on at least one side by a zip fastener, which does not release the pieces from each other entirely. This applies particularly to the zip pairs 14, 15 and 16,17. The choice is freer in the cases of the other zip fasteners.

Figures 4 - 31 seek to illustrate the use of the garment according to the invention in different situations. Reference numbers are marked in the figures, because the images will be obvious according to their purpose, even without numbers.

Figures 4 - 8 show the garment being put on. The front zip fasteners are opened from the neck down to the waist. The garment is held by the waist (Fig. 4) and the legs are put into the legs of the trouser part. The trousers are pulled up to the waist. The arms are put into the sleeves (FIG. 5) of the garment to put on the upper part. The upper part lifted onto the shoulders (FIG. 6) and the front zip fasteners are pulled shut from the waist upwards (FIG. 7), after which the size of the waist is adjusted suitably with the aid of the Velcro strips on both sides of the waist (FIG. 8). FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show using the toilet. The Velcro strips at the waist are opened on both sides (FIG. 9) and the rear flap is lowered before sitting on the toilet seat (FIG. 10). If necessary, the zips can also be opened slightly upwards from the hem of the rear piece. Figure 11 is intended to show exposing the upper back by opening the rear zip fasteners from above down to the waist.

FIG. 12 - 15 show exposing the back, for example, for regional anesthesia. The Velcro strips at the waist are opened at both sides (FIG. 12). The rear panel is lowered from the waist (FIG. 13) and the zip fasteners on the hem of the rear piece are opened upwards from below to towards the shoulders (FIG. 14, 15).

For urological operations, the crotch zip is opened from in front between the legs to the rear (FIG. 16). The entire rear panel is opened across. The flaps of the rear panel are moved aside, so that they do not remain under the patient's back when he is turned into the operating position (FIG. 17, 18). Both leg zips are opened in front from the waist down the legs at least to the knees (FIG. 19) and the legs are moved aside from the patient's thighs (FIG. 20).

In order to expose a leg/calf, the leg zip is opened from the leg cuff from below towards the knee and the calf is exposed (FIG. 21).

If it is wished to expose the thigh/groin, the leg zip is opened in front from the waist down the leg (FIG. 22), after which the waist Velcro strip is opened forwards at the side (FIG. 23).

FIG. 24 shows the exposure of the stomach. The zip fasteners are opened from the waist up on both sides. The waist Velcro strip is opened and both zips of the trouser part are opened from the waist down towards the leg cuffs.

Figures 25 and 26 show the exposure of the upper body. The zip on one side of the upper part on the side of the chest is opened upwards fully down to the waist. The Velcro strips at the waist are opened and the front piece is moved aside.

When it is wished to expose a shoulder in the manner shown in Figures 27 - 29. The zip fastener on one side of the upper part is opened down to the waist. The zip on the rear on the corresponding side is also opened from the top down to the waist. The sleeve is lowered from the shoulder so that the entire shoulder is exposed. If necessary, the arm can be removed entirely from the sleeve.

The exposure of the arm for measurement of blood pressure takes place simply by opening the zip fastener up from the sleeve cuff (FIG. 30) and exposing the arm to measure blood pressure (FIG. 31). The above description has made it explicitly clear that the garment according to the invention is an incomparable means for keeping a patient warm, while simultaneously exposing a desired part of the body for operating.

The material of the garment of the invention is preferably a three-layer laminate, in which the top layer is a smooth woven fabric, and the inner layer soft fleece.

Between these is a fluid-resistant but breathing membrane. The invention can be adapted in many ways, while nevertheless remaining within the inventive idea and the scope of protection of the accompanying Claims.

Claims

1. Garment for a surgery patient, for keeping the patient warm, and being a coverall in type and including openable/closeable means for opening/closing various parts of the garment, characterized in that the various parts of the garment form a single totality that remains together, in which there are closing means (3,4; 12,13; 14,15) in the legs (1 , 2), sleeves (10, 11), and also in the upper part of the coverall on both the chest side (14, 15) and the back side (16, 17).

2. Garment according to claim 1 , characterized in that at least some of the closing means are fixed zip fasteners in type.

3. Garment according to claim 1 , characterized in that the legs (1 , 2) can be detached from each other at the crotch, for example, with the aid of a zip fastener (5).

4. Garment according to claim 1 , characterized in that the upper and lower parts are attached to each other only at the sides.

5. Garment according to claim 1, characterized in that the uppermost area of the upper part is made as a panel and attached to the upper part by Velcro strips (7, 8) at the sides of the garment.

6. Garment according to any of the above claims, characterized in that there is a pockets (18), which can be transparent if desired, on the sleeve (10) of the garment.

7. Garment according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the upper edge of the lower part is equipped with a channel (9), for example for elastic-band tightening.

8. Garment according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the upper edge of the lower part of the garment is equipped on the front side with a Velcro attachment (6) for attaching to the upper part.

9. Garment according to claim 1 , characterized in that each of the zip fasteners (3, 4, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17) is a double-slider fixed zip fastener, to permit opening from both ends, whereas the zip fastener (14) is in type a double-slider open zip.

10. Garment according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the material of the garment is three-layer, in which case the inner layer is of fleece, the middle layer is a heat equalizing, breathable, but liquid-proof membrane, and the outer layer is a smooth woven fabric.