US3540441A - Surgical drape with hand receiving cuff - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent Robert I". Colaa Barrlagton, lllnola March 5, 1969 Nov. 17, I970 The Kendall Colnpany Boeton, Massachusetts a corporation of Massachusetts Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee SURGICAL DRAPE WITH "AND RECEIVING CUFF 5 Clalnu, 10 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 128/132,

lnt.Cl A6ll' 13/00 501 FieldofSeareh 128/155, 151165 132 [56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,251,360 5/1966 Melges 6. 138/132 3,335,119 8/1967 Boucher 138/132 Primary Examiner-Adele M. Eager Attorney- Martin Kirkpatrick ABSTRACT: A surgical legging drape having a generally trapezoidal configuration. and provided with an enlarged cuff surrounding the open end thereof, to function as a receiving pocket for the nurses hands for sterile application to a patient. The drape is folded in a unique manner such that a portion of the cuff covers a substantial area of the top panel.

Patentcl Nov. 17,, 1970 Sheet ltal Axis-*- --Horizon Patented Nov. 17, 1970 r I 3,540,441

Vertical Axis 1 FIG 7 30 FIG. 5 4

I4 orgogtol I4 XI I Qorizonm! A3 Axis Horizontal Axis I5 Verricol Axis Horizonfol Axis ,r- SURGICAL DRAPE WITH HAND RECEIV'INGCUFF This invention is directed'to a novel surgiealdrape, particularly of the legging type, provided with an enlarged cuff surrounding the open end thereof and folded in a unique manner to accommodate the enlarged cuff while yet' facilitating manipulating and further insuring sterility.

The draping of patients preliminary to surgery has traditionally been, and still remains. one of the first steps in any surgical procedure. A major purpose for drapinga surgical patient is generally to prevent the prepared area of surgical in terest from becoming contaminated by contact with unprepared areas or surfaces. Hence it is necessary that the drapes be completelysterile themselves and that they be capabio of manipulation to prevent contamination during the draping procedure. Furthermore. they must bedesigned insuch a manner as to resist slipping or sliding off the patient oneearranged in the desired position. I

it is now becoming the practice of hospitals to use prepackaged surgical drapes which are generally disposable, the same being made of synthetic fabrics. It is therefore clear that such packages must be compact, easy to open and allow It is therefore a major object of this invention to provide a novel surgical drape having an enlarged cuffsurrounding the 2 posing at its top surface 'an enlarged receiving pocket for easy r with the hands in flat parallel side-by-side relationshipo'n the ready access to 'a prefolded drape minimizing the dangers of contamination during removal from the package and subsequent unfolding and draping.

The manner of handling .a drape assumes significant importance when considered in view of the fact that. most surgical drapes are prefolded and packaged prior to use and must be unfolded and manipulated in the operating room while legging type drape.

access by a nurse orother user with the left and right hands in flat, parallel 'side-by-siderelationship on the same side of the folded'drape. v I I Still another object of thisinve tion is'to provide a surgical drape as described herein'whi'c is particularly useful as'a These and other objects and advantages may be realized according to this invention; The drape described herein is provided with-an enlarged cuffsurrou ndingthe open endthereof to permit the insertion of not only the entire hand-of the nurse but also a portion of the wrist during the unfolding operation.

same side of thefolded drape. Thedrape of this inventibn'is preferably accordian-folded along its-vertical axis into'quarters of substantially equal dimensions. It i'sthen folded along its horizontal axis into three' panels;-a front panel, middle panel, and back panel. Each of the panels carries a portion of the cuff along its top edge although in its folded position only maintaining sterility at all times. The .primary'dange'r which should be avoided is contact between the.drape-=portion in contact with the patients skin and any other surface such as a gloved hand, or the nurse's surgical gown and the like. To solve this problem, a hand receiving cuff has been provided along thatedge of the drape which is to be grasped. The cuff provides convenient receiving pockets into which a nurse may insert her hands to graspyand manipulate the drape. In this manner, the only portion of the drape touched by the nurse's gloved hand is the portion on the underside of the cuff thereby providing an effective barrier between the handled area of the drape and the sterile area of surgical interest.

Such type of surgical legging drape is described in US. Pat. No. $335,719, directed to a surgical leggingdrape having a cuff surrounding the openend thereof, and folded such that the cuff is exposed on the front-panel of the folded drape with a portion of the cuff folded congruently forward to define a.

flaplikc' fold overlying'aportion of the front panel. To unfold the drape, the nurse inserts her left hand under the front panel the portion of the cuff carried by the front panel is exposed to access by the nurse, such that the top panel consists essentially of-the cuff portion. To unfold the drape, both'the'lcft and right hands are inserted under'the top cuff directlyforward of-the nurse's body. The drape package may then be raised from the table thereby causing the drape to unfold vertically. The nurse may then slide her hands in opposite-directions along the cuff thereby unfolding the drape along its horizontal axis.

The surgical drape described "herein has particular reference to thelegging'type of. drape'which isutili'zed for draping limbs such as arms and legs, such as in obstetrical cuff and her righthand in the flaplike folded-over cuff such that one hand grasps the front panel and the other hand grasps the back side ofthe front panel.

Although this type of folded drape has met with a modicum ofsuccess, various difficulties have been encountered with the drape described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,719 .The primary difficulty lies in therelative dimensions .of the cuff, which is necessarily limited in depth suchthat the rcceivingpockets formed thereby will not accommodate the nurse's entire hand resulting in the danger that at least a portion of thenurse's gloved hand will contact a portion of the drape, resulting in possible contamination. Furthermore, the limited width ofthe cuff reduces the size of the receiving-pockets, increasing the danger of the drape slipping off the nurse's hands while unfolding and manipulating same, Nor is it possible to widen the cuffshown in the HS. Pat. No; 3,335,7l9 dueto the'manner in which the dra'pe is folded. if the cuff.were' widenedto enlarge the receiving pockets, it would become extremely difficult if not impossible to insert the righthand in the foldedover flaplike portion of the cuff. And; finally, the' mannerin \vhichthe drape is folded necessarily requiresthe nurse to inscrt her left hand in the receiving pocket directly forward of her body, while the right handmust be inserted at a"90 angle with respect to the left hand so that while unfolding the drape, both the front and back panels may be grasped. This procedure is quite awkward for the nurse and further -increases the difficulty of handling the drapc'during the unfolding and draping operation.

cases, for example. To facilitate its use inthis application. the drape may be provided with additional novel elements. Surgi- 'cal legging drapes heretofore knownin the art are of a generally rectangular shape having a slit transversing their vertical dimension such that the drape may be placed over the leg or arm. Such structure, however, utilizes more material than is necessary, which is not only economically wasteful but also highlysusceptible to tearing during the unfolding and draping operation since two long edges are exposed which may act as points forthc initiation of tearing. Furthermore, drapes of this structure are more cumbersome to manipulate thereby'increasing the dangers of contamination.

Preferably, the surgical legging drape hereof is provided having agencrallytrapezoidal configuration closed on all sides excepting the top, through which the leg orarmisinserted and around which the enlarged cuff is provided. This construction provides a drape which is conservative of material, conforms more closely. to the contour of the limbs,'simplifies manipulation, and finally, avoids the danger of contamination and tearing by eliminating slits or other open edges.

The nature ofthis invention will be better understood .by reference to the attached drawings and the following descrip tion, which illustrate. only a few of the embodiments contemplated by this invention and are not intended' to limit thisinvention thereby. For the sake of convenience. like numerals are used to designate like elements. I

H6. 1 illustrates a surgical drape in folded form having an enlarged cuff exposed on the top panel with the hands of a nurse shown in position schematically;

FIGJ'Z'shoWs' a legging drape in thecompletely unfolded state;

FIG. 3-is a plan view of a drape panel in the unfolded and unsealed state with all the fold lines shown by way of transversing lines;

FIGS.4 through 10 illustrate the various stages in the folding ofthe'drape. i

Referring now to FIG. I, there is shown a folded surgical drape 10 consisting of a trapezoidal sheet ot'sevcral panels ll. 12, I3 and I4 folded over upon one another. A substantial portion of the front panel II consists of the enlarged cuff 15 having suitable printed hand positioning indicia 17, 18 which thereby provides a receiving pocket 16 to receive the hands of a nurse or medical aide in flat parallel side-by-side relationship on the same side ofthe folded drape. A fully extended legging type drape is illustrated in FIG. 2. The nurse, in accordance with LEFT HAND indicia I7 and RIGHT HAND indicia I8. inserts her hands into the receiving pocket I6 provided by the cuff I as shown in FIG. I. By raising her arms, the drape unfolds along its vertical axispFinally, by sliding her hands along the horizontal axis ofthe drape under the cuff IS, the drape is caused to form an opening 24 through which the limb to be draped is inserted.

In order to form a closed-end cylindricallike legging drape, the drape panel 23 is folded over upon itself at vertical median line 27 (see FIG. 3) forming a doubled panel having two equal half portions 35, 36. These portions 35, 36 are sealed together along a seal line 22, 22a to sealthe bottom 37 and side 38 of the drape panel 23. leaving an open ended top.

FIG. 3 shows the trapezoidal drape panel 23 to be a unitary piece of fabric ofeither the woven or nonwoven variety having atop edge, ashorter bottom edge parallel thereto and two side edges. The cuff 15 of the drape is formed by folding over the transversely extending top edge portion of the drape'along the line 26 upon and overlying said panel for the entire width thereof forming the overlapping cuff 15 along the top of panel 23. Seal lines 22h, 22h are provided along the edges of the drape for sealing the folded over portion to the drape panel 23. The side 38 and bottom 37 are also provided with seal lines 22, 22. The drape 23 is first folded in half along the vertical median line 27. halving the panel 23 and bringingthe two side edges and the respective bottom edges substantially into edge'to-edge relationship with the overlapping cufflS on the outside ofthe folded panel. The seal lines are then activated to seal the side and bottom edges along the full length thereof, providing a doubled panel with an open ended top with an outside cuff l5 having an open bottom edge free fromconnection to said panel adjacent its bottom edge except along its top edge fora substantial distance on each side of vertical median line 27. The doubled drape is now in condition to be folded as provided by this invention to prepare a prefolded, prepackaged sterile drape.

FIGS. 5 through illustrate the sequence of folds contemplated by'this invention. A first vertical fold is made parallel to and spaced from vertical median line 27 along line 28 folding the drape upon itsclfthrough a l80 angle. The remaining portion of the drape is again similarly folded along line 29 in a reverse fold through a l80 angle. as more clearly shown in FIG. 6 These two folds complete the folding pattern along the vertical axisof the drape. A first fold along the horizontal axis parallelto the bottom edge of cuff I5 is made at line 30 folding the drape through a l8tl angle at line 30. The balance of the drape is accordion folded along consecutive equidistant parallel lines 31 and 32 thereby forming four equal drape panels (see FIGS. 7. 8 and 9) II, 12,13 and I4, The top panel I1 is formed by the last fold made along line 32, preferably somewhat below but at least not above the bottom edge ofeuff 15. The top panel ll, forming one exposed surface of the folded drape. has a folded edge defined-by median line 27 and exposes a transverse portion oftheenlarged cuff 15, including its top and bottom edges. across the entire folded widtlrof panel 11, with the positioning indi'cia 17 and 18 for the left and righthand. respectively; adjacent the left and right edges of panel II to provide a receiving pocket 16 into which the nurse inserts her left and right hands in flat parallel side-bysidc relationship on the same side of the folded drape. as shown in FIG. I, and opens the drape as shown in FIG. 2.

The cuff forming the receiving pocket 16 covers substantially the entire top panel II and is therefore sufficiently large to accommodate-the entire hand and a portion of the wrist of the nurse. This feature insures against the accidental slipping off ofthe-drape from the hands of the nurseduring the unfolding and draping maneuvers. Furthermore. sterility is more assured since the enlarged cuff provides adequate surface area for grasping the drape, simplifying controlled manipulation of the drape. Hence, contact between the drape and unprepared areas is minimized while at the same time, a good barrier is provided between the nurse's hands and the main body of the drape. Finally, the folding pattern provides a simplc but effcient manner of unfolding thedrapc without at the same time necessitating an awkward folding pattern of the top panel of the prefolded drape as shown in thc.U.S. Pat. No. 3,335] l 9.

This invention has particular applicability to a leggingtype surgical drape. For this applicationvthe drape is preferably trapezoidal in design being biased along one of" the vertical edges. This design is more conservative ofmaterialand therefore more economical to manufacture while at the same time,

.more closely approximating the shape of the human limbs which are to be draped. Furthermore, there is less material at the extremities of the limbs where excessive drape material is not necessary thereby minimizing the likelihood of the material bunching and interfering with the surgeon during the surgical procedure. 3 i

However, it is to be understood that although this invention has particular applicability tolegging type surgical drapes as described, the provision of an enlarged cuff and the folding pattern designed to accommodate an enlarged cuff in a prefolded drape as disclosed herein is equally applicable to various othertypes of prcfolded drapes.

The seal lines provided in the drape panel are most conveniently provided in the formof glue lines which are spread onto the drapepancl during the manufacturing procedure. However, other sealing means may be employed in the manu facture of these drapes depending upon the fabric utilized for the drapes. For example, stitching may be employed as sealing means for woven fabric drapes as well as nonwoven fabrics. The particular sealing means employed is not deemed to be a critical part of this invention so long as the particular sealing means utilized results in a secure seal line.

Although specific reference has been made to disposable drapes formed of a nonwoven fabric, it is to be understood that this. invention is equally applicable to drapes formed of other fabrics including woven and nonwoven, whether disposable or nondisposable. The particular fabric of which the drapes are composed is again not critical to the utilization ofthis invention.

Others may practice this invention in any of the numerous ways which will be suggested to one skilled in the art upon reading thisdisclosure. All such practice isconsideret'l to be covered'hereby provided it falls within the scope of the appended claims;

Iclaim: l. A folded surgical drape comprising: a four-sided panel having a top edge, a bottom edge, and

two side edges;

the transversely extending top edge of said panel being folded' over' upon and overlying said panel for the entire width thereof forming an overlapping cuff along the top ofsaidpanel',

a first fold along the vertical median line of said panel halving said panel and bringing the two side edgesand respective bottom edges substantially into edge-to-edge relationship with said overlapping cuff on the outside of said folded panel:-

sealing means sealing said side and bottom edges to provide at least one fold along a line parallel to and spaced at least not above said overlapping cuff bottom edge; and

one surface of said folded drape exposing a transverse portion of said cuff including its bottom edge across the en tire folded width thereof to provide a receiving pocket for the left and right hands in flat parallel sidc-by-side relationship on the same side ofthe folded drape.

2. A folded surgical drape as claimed in claim 1 wherein said one surface of said folded drape is adjacent said median line.

3. A folded surgical drape as claimed in claim 2 wherein said surface of said folded-drape includes positioning indicia I for the left and right hand respectively, adjacent the left and right edges thereof.

4. A folded surgical drape as claimed in claim I wherein said panel is trapezoidal with a bottom edge shorter than said top edge. I I

5. A folded surgical drape comprising: a four-sided trapezoidal panel having a top' edge, a shorter bottom' edge parallel thereto and two side edges; 1

the transversely extending top edge of said panel being folded over upon and overlying said panel for the entire width thereof forming an overlapping cuff along the top ofsaid panel;

a first fold along the vertical median line of said panel halving said panel and bringing the two side edges and the respective bottom edges substantially into edge-to-edge relationship with said overlapping cuff on the outside of at least'two folds along lines parallel to and spaced below said overlapping cuff bottom edge; and

one surface of said folded drape having a folded edge defined by said median line and exposinga transverse portionof said cuff including its top and bottom edges across the entire folded width thereof with said positioning indicia for the left and right hand-respectively, ad-

- jaccnt the left and right edges thereof to provide a receiving pocket for the left and right hands in flat parallel sideby-side relationship on the same side ofthe folded drape.

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