Patent Application
20130289577
The present invention relates to a medical device, and in particular, a medical device used in the delivery of a baby that encounters shoulder dystocia. Specifically, the device includes an elongated handle and a blade section with a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the first side being curved and the second side being flat.
Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency that occurs during childbirth, and can be traumatic for the fetus and/or mother, and challenging for the providers. Shoulder dystocia is unpredictable. Shoulder dystocia occurs when, following the delivery of a baby's head, one of the baby's shoulders gets impacted against the pubic arch or symphysis, and fails to deliver with the application of a gentle downward force. A difficult shoulder dystocia can result in injury to the fetus, which ranges from transient neurological deficits due to stretching of the brachial plexus (a large bundle of nerves passing from the neck to the shoulders) to permanent paralysis of the arm due to nerve damage. Other injuries are possible, even brain injury or death caused by lack of oxygen due to an extended delay before the delivery of the baby. Once shoulder dystocia is diagnosed, a series of maneuvers are usually applied including the McRobert's maneuver (flexing the mother's thighs against her abdomen), application of suprapubic pressure (Rubin I maneuver), rotational maneuvers, delivery of the posterior arm or changing the position of the mother to all fours. The rotational maneuvers, which include Rubin II, Wood or cork-screw and reverse Wood screw, are aimed at limiting the stretch on the neck of the baby and hence on the brachial plexus nerve bundles.
This invention provides a method of rotating the shoulders of the baby in the birth canal without applying tension on the brachial nerves so that the baby can be rotated to a position which will facilitate delivery effectively and expeditiously. With the exception of the “baby shoulder vacuum” (U.S. Publication No. 2009/0270879 A1 (Tong)), which aims to apply a vacuum cup directly on the impacted shoulder under the pubic arch to provide traction on the impacted shoulder, there are no other devices to help resolve a shoulder dystocia. The shoulder vacuum is designed to pull on the impacted shoulder by introducing a cup that would fit over the impacted shoulder, which may be difficult due to extreme limitation of space between the impacted shoulder and the pubic arch which caused the dystocia to begin with.
Various obstetric forceps or vacuum devices are available but are not designed to be applied to the baby's shoulders with the exception of Tong's Baby Shoulder Vacuum Cup. The majority of devices are designed for application on or around the baby's head. The baby shoulder cup, would require assembly of different parts and attachment to a vacuum device which could prolong the time to delivery. It may also be difficult to apply the baby cup to the impacted shoulder due to limitation of space between the shoulder and the mother's pubic arch. The manual rotation methods commonly used and described above by inserting two digits behind or in front of the shoulder and pushing can be limited due to the thickness of the fingers and at times and the shortness of the fingers or the limited force that can be generated using just the fingers.
The current invention of the Scapuloblade introduces a narrow and streamlined blade which will be slipped to the left to the right side of the impacted shoulder, with a first curved maternal side and a second flattened baby side covered by a diaphragm or padding which will be applied on the scapula region of the baby's shoulders, either the impacted or the opposite shoulder. The device helps rotate the shoulders with no pulling on the neck of the baby or the impacted shoulder.
The Scapuloblade device is a single unit that comprises a streamlined blade that has a first curved maternal side and a second flattened baby side, and is directly inserted into the portion of the birth canal with the most room during a shoulder dystocia. The device can be applied to either side of the impacted shoulder. The handle that extends from the blade as an integral unit can then be grasped by a user and used to apply rotational force to rotate one or the other of the baby's shoulders. The Scapuloblade has a maternal curved outer surface to conform to the birth canal and a flattened surface that can be covered with a diaphragm or padding on the baby's side to assure adherence to or to create a seal on the scapula region of the baby's shoulder. By serving as a lever, the Scapuloblade of the instant invention facilitates, and more effectively allows the rotation, without pulling on the baby that will align the axis of the shoulders in the largest diameter of the birth canal. Additionally, because the device is not designed to apply traction, this further minimizes the risk of injury to the brachial plexus nerves which typically suffer stretch injury.
Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elements throughout this disclosure.
Referring now in detail to the drawings,
Scapuloblade device. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
With the user's fingers nested between the scalloping 3 of the handle 1, and while stabilizing the Scapuloblade with the other hand on the non scalloping part of the handle 1 or a portion of the curved side 7 of the blade 4, the user can apply torque force on the Scapuloblade, in a curved arc aimed towards the front of the baby. This motion serves to dislodge the anterior shoulder 10 from under the pubic symphysis 12 so that the axis of the shoulders will be rendered to lie in an oblique diameter of the mother's vagina (instead of the original anterior to posterior diameter), which provides the maximal space for the delivery of the shoulders. Once the rotation is accomplished, the user can remove the Scapuloblade and continue the delivery of the baby in the normal manner.
If, on the other hand, difficulty is encountered rotating a deeply impacted anterior shoulder 10, then the blade 4 can be applied to the scapula region of the posterior shoulder 11, as illustrated in
It is to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “upper,” “lower,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points or portions of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration. Further, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., merely identify one of a number of portions, components and/or points of reference as disclosed herein, and do not limit the present invention to any particular configuration or orientation.
Therefore, although the disclosed inventions are illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the inventions. Further, various features from one of the embodiments may be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the invention be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure.
This application is a continuation of prior U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/336,602, filed Dec. 23, 2011, entitled “Scapuloblade Shoulder Dystocia Forcep Device,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13336602 | Dec 2011 | US |
| Child | 13887754 | US |
