Claims
- 1. A method by which a female patient samples nipple prosthetic devices during a second stage of her breast reconstruction, comprising the steps of
the female patient (a) selecting a first candidate nipple prosthetic device that has a particular size and color, (b) attaching the first candidate nipple prosthetic device to her breast that is undergoing reconstruction at an initial location of her choosing by means of an adhesive strong enough so that the first candidate nipple prosthetic device stays on a breast during a wearing of the device but weak enough to permit easy removal of said device, (c) wearing said first candidate nipple prosthetic device at the initial location for a period of time including in as many real life situations as she desires, said period of time optionally including time gaps of non-use, said first candidate nipple prosthetic device being breathable and water-resistant; (d) removing the first candidate nipple prosthetic device from the initial location, (e) repeating steps (b) through (d) for the first candidate nipple prosthetic device at as many other locations on said breast as she desires, (f) repeating steps (a) through (e) for as many subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices having a different size and/or shape from a just previously sampled candidate nipple prosthetic device as desired until the female patient satisfactorily decides on a final size, color and location of a desired nipple.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices that contain a nipple portion and an areola portion.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer covers an area adjacent to and in contact with at least part of an inside surface of the candidate nipple prosthetic device sufficient to adhere said candidate nipple prosthetic device to the female breast, the areola portion of the candidate nipple prosthetic device surrounding said nipple portion of said candidate nipple prosthetic device and having a concave shape that conforms to an outer contour of a female human breast, said nipple portion aligned with said areola portion so that upon attachment of the candidate nipple prosthetic device to said breast, said nipple portion projecting outwardly from an outer surface of said breast.
- 4. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple and areola portion are made of natural loosely woven fibrous material and the nipple portion is of a substantially cylindrical shape and is solid.
- 5. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple portion and areola portion are made of cotton.
- 6. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple portion and the areola portion are made of a breathable microporous water-resistant polymer material.
- 7. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices that contain a nipple portion and an areola portion that are colored to conform to an actual female human nipple and areola and wherein a color of the nipple portion gradually changes to a color of the areola portion in an area of the areola portion closest to the nipple portion.
- 8. The method of claim 3, wherein prior to attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices, the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices are peeled off a backing that the adhesive layer of said first and subsequent nipple prosthetic device sticks to during storage.
- 9. The method of claim 3, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is adjacent to an entire inside surface of the areola portion.
- 10. The method of claim 11, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is also adjacent to at least a part of an inside surface of the nipple portion.
- 11. The method of claim 3, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is also adjacent to an entire inside surface of the areola portion and an entire inside surface of the nipple portion.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of attaching each candidate nipple prosthetic device to a breast involves attaching that candidate nipple prosthetic device to the breast by means of an adhesive layer forming part of said candidate nipple prosthetic device.
- 13. A method by which a female patient samples nipple prosthetic devices during a second stage of her breast reconstruction, comprising the steps of
the female patient (a) selecting a first candidate nipple prosthetic device that has a particular set of physical characteristics, (b) attaching the first candidate nipple prosthetic device to her breast that is undergoing reconstruction at an initial location of her choosing by means of an adhesive strong enough so that the first candidate nipple prosthetic device stays on a breast during a wearing of the device but weak enough to permit easy removal of said device, (c) wearing said first candidate nipple prosthetic device at the initial location for a period of time including in as many real life situations as she desires, said period of time optionally including time gaps of non-use, said first candidate nipple prosthetic device being breathable and water-resistant; (d) removing the first candidate nipple prosthetic device from the initial location, (e) repeating steps (b) through (d) for the first candidate nipple prosthetic device at as many other locations on said breast as she desires, (f) repeating steps (a) through (e) for as many subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices having a different set of physical characteristics from a just previously sampled candidate nipple prosthetic device as desired until the female patient satisfactorily decides on a final set of physical characteristics and location of a desired nipple.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices that contain a nipple portion and an areola portion.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer covers an area adjacent to and in contact with at least part of an inside surface of the candidate nipple prosthetic device sufficient to adhere said candidate nipple prosthetic device to the female breast, the areola portion of the candidate nipple prosthetic device surrounding said nipple portion of said candidate nipple prosthetic device and having a concave shape that conforms to an outer contour of a female human breast, said nipple portion aligned with said areola portion so that upon attachment of the candidate nipple prosthetic device to said breast, said nipple portion projecting outwardly from an outer surface of said breast.
- 16. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple and areola portion are made of natural loosely woven fibrous material and the nipple portion is of a substantially cylindrical shape and is solid.
- 17. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple portion and areola portion are made of cotton.
- 18. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the nipple portion and the areola portion are made of a breathable microporous water-resistant polymer material.
- 19. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices that contain a nipple portion and an areola portion that are colored to conform to an actual female human nipple and areola and wherein a color of the nipple portion gradually changes to a color of the areola portion in an area of the areola portion closest to the nipple portion.
- 20. The method of claim 15, wherein prior to attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices, the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices are peeled off a backing that the adhesive layer of said first and subsequent nipple prosthetic device sticks to during storage.
- 21. The method of claim 15, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is adjacent to an entire inside surface of the areola portion.
- 22. The method of claim 23, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is also adjacent to at least a part of an inside surface of the nipple portion.
- 23. The method of claim 15, wherein attaching the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves attaching candidate nipple prosthetic devices wherein the adhesive layer is also adjacent to an entire inside surface of the areola portion and an entire inside surface of the nipple portion.
- 24. The method of claim 13, wherein selecting the first and subsequent candidate nipple prosthetic devices involves selecting candidate nipple prosthetic devices whose set of physical characteristics include size, shape, color, rigidity, weight and/or porosity.
- 25. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of attaching each candidate nipple prosthetic device to a breast involves attaching that candidate nipple prosthetic device to the breast by means of an adhesive layer forming part of said candidate nipple prosthetic device.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/349,449 for a “Female Nipple Prosthetic Device” filed Jan. 22, 2003 by the same inventor/applicant, Constance Tizard Holmes, which parent application is pending and incorporated herein by reference.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10349449 |
Jan 2003 |
US |
Child |
10374481 |
Feb 2003 |
US |