1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a pelvic-abdominal medical support garment for patient use to control pain, edema and infection occurring from acute or chronic conditions such as cancer or after genital or abdominal surgery or vaginal childbirth thereby reducing complications and improving recovery time.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Patients who have undergone aesthetic or reconstructive surgery of the abdomen, genitals or pelvis or who have given vaginal childbirth are likely candidates for some form of complications during the recovery period. Typical of such complications are atelectasis, hypostatic pneumonia, phlebitis, pulmonary complication, vulvar prolapse, abdominal swelling and lower back pain. Patients who have acute or chronic conditions such as cancer or severe arthritis often require support in the pelvic or abdominal areas to provide relief from pain. The prior art teaches the use of binders or girdles that use the elastic properties of fiber to provide abdominal support. Typical of such prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,783,879; 5,571,039 and 6,270,469. In some instances, the prior art offers back braces or belly braces and in some instances genital prolapse panties. The prior art teaches the utilization of both the elastic properties of the fibers used to form the garments and in some instances does teach the utilization of a non-elastic material to provide a mechanical support as opposed to the elastic support. There are also teachings in the prior art of panties that have integral pockets adapted to receive cold packs to assist in pain relief.
The prior art support garments currently known however do not provide a garment which can be immediately worn by the patient and which provides the ability to easily adjust the amount of pressure that is to be applied to the crotch region of the user nor is there any device which also allows the user to apply ice and an absorbent pad to the crotch region of the user to provide the desired support, increase the comfort of the crotch area and provide early ambulation to help the patient reestablish his or her normal physiology and prevents or minimizes complications.
A pelvic-abdominal support garment including a waist encircling member which is adjustably securable by the user, shorts secured to the bottom edge of the waistband with the shorts defining a crotch region, and a strap member having one end thereof secured to the back portion of the waist encircling member and the other end thereof attachable by the user to the front of the waist encircling member after passing under the crotch region of the shorts so that the strap applies pressure, adjustable by the user, to the crotch area of the wearer.
As referred to above, patients who have acute or chronic conditions such as cancer or severe arthritis or who have undergone aesthetic or reconstructive surgery of the abdomen, genitals or pelvis or women who have given vaginal childbirth often experience severe discomfort, swelling, vulvar prolapse, abdominal swelling, joint pain and lower back pain. The pelvic-abdominal medical support garment of the present invention has an upper adjustable waist encircling member which extends from approximately the top of the hip bone to the upper abdominals and is made from a stiff supportive brace-like material which is designed to support the back, the abdominals and to place pressure on the abdominal cavity to reduce swelling. The bottom part of the garment is a shorts-style garment made from antibacterial and quick-dry material which also has the capability of stretching and is non-removably secured to the lower edge of the upper adjustable waist encircling member. The shorts-style portion of the garment includes a removable member having a pocket or receptacle attachable to the crotch region thereof for holding a frozen or heated gel pack to apply cold or heat to the crotch area of the wearer. The removable member having the pocket is also adapted to receive an absorbent pad. An elastic strap is secured to the rear portion of the waist encircling member and passes under the crotch region of the shorts with the opposite end of the elastic strap being attachable by a hook and loop fastener to the front portion of the waist encircling member so that pressure can be applied against the crotch of the wearer in an amount adjustable by the wearer.
A pelvic-abdominal adjustable medical support garment of the present invention addresses the various issues faced by a patient with one device that can be worn immediately after surgery or after giving birth and over underclothing for weeks thereafter providing support to the back, abdominals and vulva while the patient is recovering.
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
Shorts 24 made of a stretchable material are non-removably secured to the bottom edge 20 of the waist encircling member 12. The shorts 24 have leg openings 26 and 28 so the user may step into the shorts. The shorts also include a crotch region 30 which is adapted to engage the crotch region of the wearer. The interior of the shorts 24 has secured thereto one-half of a hook and loop fastener as shown at 32 and 34. These portions of the hook and loop fastener 32 and 34 are situated at each end of the crotch region 30 of the shorts and are adapted to receive a detachable member having a pocket or receptacle as will be described more fully below.
A strap member 36 is secured to the back 22 of the waist encircling member adjacent the lower edge 20 thereof As illustrated, particularly in
It will now be recognized that when the wearer wishes to utilize the support garment 10, the wearer may simply separate the waist encircling member by separating the two portions 14, 16 by separating the hook and loop fastener and then step into the shorts by placing the user's feet and legs through the openings 26 and 28 in the shorts 24. The shorts are made from elastic material which is antibacterial and quick dry.
Referring now more specifically to
As is also shown in
As previously indicated, the strap member 36 preferably includes three separate straps 38, 40 and 42. To make these straps more comfortable for the user, a pad 60 as shown in
As shown more clearly in
Referring now more particularly to
In some instances, for example, such as immediately after surgery or childbirth, when body exude from incisions may soil a garment yet it is desired to apply pressure and cold or heat to the area, the pelvic-abdominal support garment of the present invention may be constructed of non-durable materials which may be discarded after use. For example, the garment of the present invention could be constructed of Pampers Swaddlers diaper-like material which has absorbent capability and is stretchable and has overlapping areas to secure the garment in place. In such instances the pocket for receipt of the gel pack may be formed as a part of the crotch of the garment.
There has thus been disclosed a pelvic-abdominal medical device support garment which is useful to provide support and comfort to a wearer to aid in the recovery of the wearer after surgery or vaginal delivery of a child or to provide relief from acute or chronic medical conditions.
The present application is a U.S. National Stage entry under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/US2013/054392, filed on 9 Aug. 2013, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/683,517, filed on 15 Aug. 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entierty. This is the nonprovisional application based upon Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/683,517, Filed Aug. 15, 2012 and Applicant claims the benefits of the filing date thereof.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2013/054392 | 8/9/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/051863 | 4/3/2014 | WO | A |
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