Patent Application
20190000679
The present invention relates generally to post-operative surgical dressings, and more particularly to a post-otologic surgical protection device employing an adjustable mastoid dressing and method of its use.
Otologic surgery with mastoidectomy traditionally requires a pressure dressing to prevent formation of hematoma. Typical dressings include several layers of gauze to properly protect the ear while applying pressure to the post-auricular (mastoid) region that are immediately applied after surgery. These typical dressings are merely wrapped around a patient's head, such as forming a band around the forehead, the mastoid region, and generally the occipital bone, and are held on the patient's head by tension of the wrapping and/or a fastener.
These typical dressings have several drawbacks. For example, typical wrapped mastoid dressings are time consuming to apply (e.g., 3-5 minutes per wrapping), particularly in an expensive operating room setting during a sensitive period of a case (e.g., while the patient is waking up). Furthermore, mastoid dressings that are too loose can fall off immediately following the operation and/or when the patient leaves the hospital or clinic. However, applying a typical dressing too tightly can cause discomfort and lead to pressure necrosis of the patient's auricle and/or forehead. Mastoid wrappings that are too loose or too tight must be removed and reapplied, which often requires further visits to the provider.
Disclosed herein is an adjustable mastoid dressing that is adjustable to provide a secure fit of a mastoid portion to a patient's skull, and a method for using such an adjustable mastoid dressing. The adjustable mastoid dressing includes an adjustable upper band and an adjustable lower band that together compress the patient's mastoid region. The upper band and lower band include posterior portions that optimally engage the patient's occipital bone when tightened via manually operable tension adjusters. The adjustable mastoid dressing offers shorter installation time than previously known methods for mastoid dressings, and likewise avoids the need to post-operatively replace or adjust a wound mastoid dressing because it was put on too loosely or too tightly. Separately adjustable upper and lower bands allow for appropriate pressure to be applied to the mastoid portion to prevent hematoma while avoiding excess pressure at pinpoint areas. The adjustable mastoid dressing may also avoid complications associated with traditional, wrapped mastoid dressings, including folding of the ear generating pressure necrosis, and/or excessive pressure over the forehead generating local tissue injury.
In accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, an adjustable mastoid dressing is provided comprising: an adjustable upper band having a frontal portion, an upper band posterior portion, and side portions extending between the frontal portion and the upper band posterior portion; an adjustable lower band attached to the adjustable upper band and having a lower posterior portion; an upper tension adjuster operatively engaging the upper band posterior portion; a lower tension adjuster operatively engaging the lower band posterior portion; and a mastoid portion engaging the adjustable upper band and the adjustable lower band so as to be compressed by the upper band and the lower band against a patient's skull.
In accordance with further aspects of an embodiment of the invention, a method for mastoid dressing is provided, comprising the steps of: providing an adjustable mastoid dressing comprising: an adjustable upper band having a frontal portion, an upper band posterior portion, and side portions extending between the frontal portion and the upper band posterior portion; an adjustable lower band attached to the adjustable upper band and having a lower posterior portion; an upper tension adjuster operatively engaging the upper band posterior portion; a lower tension adjuster operatively engaging the lower band posterior portion; and a mastoid portion engaging the adjustable upper band and the adjustable lower band so as to be compressed by the upper band and the lower band against a patient's skull; positioning the upper band on a patient's head so that the frontal portion extends across the patient's forehead; using the upper tension adjuster to tighten the upper band against an upper portion of the patient's occipital bone; and using the lower tension adjuster to tighten the lower band against a lower portion of the patient's occipital bone.
Still other aspects, features and advantages of the invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. The invention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized. The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements, and in which:
The following detailed description is provided to gain a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses and/or systems described herein. Various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/or methods described herein will suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted to enhance clarity and conciseness. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. does not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denotes the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
The use of the terms “first”, “second”, and the like does not imply any particular order, but they are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. does not denote any order of importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Although some features may be described with respect to individual exemplary embodiments, aspects need not be limited thereto such that features from one or more exemplary embodiments may be combinable with other features from one or more exemplary embodiments.
As shown in
With reference particularly to
As shown in
With continued reference to
Tension adjusters 150 and 160 are configured to quickly and precisely adjust the tension (e.g., hoop stress) in the adjustable mastoid dressing 101. The adjustable mastoid dressing 101 may employ various types of tension adjusters, such as ratchets, clamps, snaps, buttons, belt-type, hook-and-loop, double adjuster, and the like, the configurations of which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the exemplary embodiment shown in
As shown in
In certain configurations, either or both of tension adjusters 150 and 160 may alternatively be removable, such that a physician may remove the tension adjuster 150 or 160 after tightening the adjustable mastoid dressing 101 and replace the tension adjuster 150 or 160 if tension of the adjustable mastoid dressing 101 must be adjusted (e.g., increased tension or decreased tension).
With particular reference to
Optionally, mastoid portion 170 may be affixed to frame 100 of adjustable mastoid dressing 101, such as by way of fasteners (e.g., screws), loops, snaps, or the like, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Thus, the present invention provides an adjustable mastoid dressing that is configured to be preassembled with multiple tension adjusters. The adjustable mastoid dressing includes a frontal portion, at least one mastoid portion, a plurality of tension adjusters, and a posterior portion. The adjustable mastoid dressing is preassembled to reduce the time required to apply the mastoid dressing to the patient. The adjustable mastoid dressing with multiple tension adjusters is configured to be simply adjusted, such that it can be adjusted in the immediate post-operative period by the physician or by the patient after they leave the hospital.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. For example, while lower adjustable band 120 is shown having a configuration that extends downward from pivot connection 123 (located at approximately a patient temple aligning position on upper band 110) so as to extend under the patient's ear to lower band posterior portion 122, it may alternatively extend in a more straight, linear fashion extending in a direction over the patient's ear while still aligning the lower band posterior portion 122 over the bottom of the patient's occipital bone. Likewise, while upper band 110 and lower band 120 are each shown with a single tension adjuster 150 and 160, respectively, either or both of upper band 110 and lower band 120 may include multiple tension adjusters to provide additional control over the application of compressive forces to the mastoid portion 170. Likewise, in addition to tension adjuster 160 on lower band 120 (or even possibly in place thereof), lower band 120 may be attachable to upper band 110 at various positions along the length of lower band 120. For instance, the ends of lower band 120 that attach to upper band 110 may be equipped with multiple first halves of snap (such as on a baseball cap) or button (such as on an outerwear jacket) attachment devices, with the mating second half of such attachment devices affixed to upper band 110, thus allowing the attachment point between upper band 110 and lower band 120, and thus the effective length of lower band 120, to vary.
It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/527,287 titled “Adjustable Mastoid Dressing,” filed Jun. 30, 2017 by the inventors herein, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62527287 | Jun 2017 | US |
