Claims
- 1. A septal splint for maintaining the nasal septum in planar alignment following a reconfiguration thereof, comprising in combination:
- (a) a pair of generally rigid plate members, each of said plate members having two major side surfaces, one of said side surfaces being roughened to enhance its tissue gripping characteristics;
- (b) an evacuable, contractable bag member containing an opened celled sponge, said bag member being attached to the other of said two major surfaces of each of said plate members;
- (c) tubular airway means extending the length of each of said pair of plate members, said tubular airway means being attached to said plate members and at least partially surrounded by said bag member;
- (d) means for evacuating said bag members to thereby compress said sponges prior to placement of said pair of plate members within the nasal openings with said roughened surfaces abutting the septum to be aligned; and
- (e) means for exposing the interior of said bag members to atmospheric pressure, allowing said sponges to expand following placement of said pair of plate members within said nasal openings whereby the roughened surface of said pair of plate members are held in contact with the septum of either side thereof with a predetermined force.
- 2. The septal splint as in claim 1 wherein said one surface of each of said plate members is covered with a medium incorporating a hemostatic agent.
- 3. The septal splint as in claim 2 wherein said medium is pigskin.
- 4. The septal splint as in claim 2 wherein said medium also incorporates an anti-microbial agent.
- 5. The septal splint as in claim 1 wherein means for evacuating said bag member includes a self-sealing, penetrable valve disposing in the bag member.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 442,592, filed Nov. 18, 1983, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 265,963, filed May 21, 1981, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,802.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2419711 |
Nov 1979 |
FRX |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
442592 |
Nov 1983 |
|
Parent |
265963 |
May 1981 |
|