The present invention is generally related to a surgical drape that includes an extendable sleeve for use during surgical procedures. The surgical drape for use during surgical procedures of the present invention utilizes an extendable sleeve that is attached to the surgical drape so that a surgical instrument such as a positioning arm of a surgical device can be located (and enclosed) within the extendable sleeve and the patient can also be covered with the surgical drape. In this manner, the surgical drape having the extendable sleeve can provide protection against contamination of the surgical site on the patient due to exposure of the surgical site on the patient to the surgical instrument. Also, the surgical drape of the present invention quickly and easily covers (and encloses) the surgical instrument and the patient and is capable of being quickly and easily removed from the surgical instrument and the patient after the surgical procedure has been completed. Furthermore, the surgical drape of the present invention allows for the nonsterile surgical instrument to be mounted to the operating room table and allows the nonsterile surgical instrument to be sterilely brought into the surgical field much more efficiently and safely than if there is no sleeve incorporated and the drapes have to be gathered around the base of the surgical instrument where it attaches to the table. Finally, the surgical drape of the present invention allows for the surgical instrument to be used during a surgical procedure even while the surgical instrument is covered (enclosed) by the extendable sleeve.
Prior to the present invention, as set forth in general terms above and more specifically below, it is known, to employ various types of surgical drapes for use during surgical procedures. Furthermore, it is known to use a variety of surgical instruments during a surgical procedure. Currently, in order to reduce the likelihood of a surgical instrument contaminating a surgical site of a patient, the surgical instrument is conventionally sterilized and then covered with a conventional surgical drape or other similar type of covering. Also, the patient is covered with another conventional surgical drape or other similar type of covering.
However, there are some surgical devices or instruments that cannot be sterilized (such as a positioning arm of a surgical instrument) and for these to be used in the sterile field requires them to be covered with a sterile drape or covering. In these instances, the covering that is used to cover the surgical instrument is simply draped over the surgical instrument and the covering is then taped or otherwise secured to a base or other similar structure of the surgical instrument so that the covering remains in place on the surgical instrument. While this type of surgical instrument covering is able to adequately cover the surgical instrument, this type of surgical instrument covering does not adequately protect the surgical site of the patient from possibly being contaminated by the surgical instrument since the covering does not completely enclose the surgical instrument. Furthermore, the covering may adversely affect the ability of the surgical instrument to properly operate during the surgical procedure since there are folds and other undesirable portions of the covering that may get in the way of the surgical instrument. Finally, since a plurality of surgical drapes are needed in order to cover the surgical instrument and the patient, this adds to the cost of the medical procedure and the time needed to perform the medical procedure. While these and other various surgical drapes for use during surgical procedures may have been generally satisfactory, there is nevertheless a need for a new and improved, surgical drape which has an extendable sleeve that is capable of enclosing a surgical instrument and the patient during the surgical procedure.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill these and other needs in the art of surgical drapes for use during surgical procedures in a manner more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.
The preferred surgical drape having an extendable sleeve for use during surgical procedures, according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; lightness in weight; durability; ability to cover a surgical instrument; ability to cover a patient; ability to reduce surgical site contamination by exposure of the surgical site to the surgical instrument; ability to easily cover the surgical instrument; ability to easily cover the patient; ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the surgical instrument; ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the patient; ability to allow the surgical instrument to be used during the surgical procedure; and ability to provide a plurality of extendable sleeves on the surgical drape to cover a plurality of surgical instruments that may be used during the surgical procedure. In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known surgical drapes for use during surgical procedures.
The above-mentioned features and steps of the invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters represent like parts throughout the several views and in which:
With respect to
While the surgical instrument 4 is capable of being covered by the surgical drape 8, as can be seen in
Referring now to
With respect to surgical drape 50 having an extendable sleeve 56 for use during surgical procedures, surgical drape 50 includes, in part, conventional surgical drape 52, opening or fenestration 54, extendable sleeve 56, sleeve folds 58, sleeve folds retainer 60, and sleeve/drape attachment 62. Preferably, extendable sleeve 56 is constructed of any suitable clear, durable, high-strength, flexible, medical grade polymeric material such as polyethylene. Also, sleeve folds retainer 60 is constructed of any suitable durable, high-strength, flexible, medical grade adhesive material such as tape that is capable of retaining the sleeve folds 58 in a folded condition until the extendable sleeve 56 is extended, as discussed in greater detail later. Finally, sleeve/drape attachment 62 is any suitable, durable, attachment that is used to secure the end of the extendable sleeve 56 to a periphery around the opening 54 such as heat sealing or any other conventional securing technique.
A unique aspect of the present invention is that the extendable sleeve 56 is to be constructed of a sufficient size and length so to be able to accommodate a variety of conventional surgical instruments particularly once the surgical instrument has been fully extended. Also, surgical drape 52 should be constructed to allow the surgical drape 52 to cover the patient 150 and the surgical instrument at the same time, as shown in
Another unique aspect of the present invention is the use of surgical drape 50 having an extendable sleeve 56 for use during surgical procedures. As shown in
Once the surgical personnel have positioned the extendable sleeve 56 of the surgical drape 50 over the surgical instrument 100 and the patient 150, the surgical personnel then cuts or otherwise removes the sleeve folds retainer 60 from the extendable sleeve 56 so that the extendable sleeve 56 can be subsequently extended (
As shown in
Regarding
At some point, if the surgical instrument is capable of being extended, the surgical personnel activates the conventional extension mechanism (not shown) of the surgical instrument 100 so that the surgical instrument 100 can be extended (
As shown in
In
As shown in
As shown in
Finally, as shown in
A unique aspect of the present invention is that the present invention allows for a non-sterile device (i.e., surgical instrument 100) that is fixed to the operating room table 102 to be brought into the sterile field in a novel way through the use of the surgical drape 50 having an extendable sleeve 56 incorporated into the surgical drape 50. The present invention is far better than the current method of gathering the surgical drape around the base of the non-sterile device where it mounts to the operating room table and then placing a plastic sleeve over the non-sterile device and sealing the base with surgical tape to make the area more sterile.
The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes and to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the figures of the accompanying drawing, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
It is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Thus, from the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for the purpose of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims and the present invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
The specific methods and compositions described herein are representative of preferred embodiments and are exemplary and not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Other objects, aspects, and embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification, and are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims. It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that varying substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, or limitation or limitations, which is not specifically disclosed herein as essential. Thus, for example, in each instance herein, in embodiments or examples of the present invention, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “containing”, etc. are to be read expansively and without limitation. The methods and processes illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in differing orders of steps, and that they are not necessarily restricted to the orders of steps indicated herein or in the claims.
It is also to be understood that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an.” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the term “X and/or Y” means “X” or “Y” or both “X” and “Y”, and the letter “s” following a noun designates both the plural and singular forms of that noun. In addition, where features or aspects of the invention are described in terms of Markush groups, it is intended and those skilled in the art will recognize, that the invention embraces and is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
Therefore, provided herein is a new and improved surgical drape having an extendable sleeve for use during surgical procedures. The preferred surgical drape having an extendable sleeve for use during surgical procedures, according to various embodiments of the present invention, offers the following advantages: ease of use; lightness in weight; durability; ability to cover a surgical instrument; ability to cover a patient; ability to reduce surgical site contamination by exposure of the surgical site to the surgical instrument; ability to easily cover the surgical instrument; ability to easily cover the patient; ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the surgical instrument; ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the patient; ability to allow the surgical instrument to be used during the surgical procedure; and ability to provide a plurality of extendable sleeves on the surgical drape to cover a plurality of surgical instruments that may be used during the surgical procedure.
In fact, in many of the preferred embodiments, these advantages of ease of use, lightness in weight, durability, ability to cover a surgical instrument, ability to cover a patient, ability to reduce surgical site contamination by exposure of the surgical site to the surgical instrument, ability to easily cover the surgical instrument, ability to easily cover the patient, ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the surgical instrument, ability to easily remove the surgical drape from the patient, ability to allow the surgical instrument to be used during the surgical procedure, and ability to provide a plurality of extendable sleeves on the surgical drape to cover a plurality of surgical instruments that may be used during the surgical procedure are optimized to an extent that is considerably higher than heretofore achieved in prior, known surgical drapes for use during surgical procedures.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/169,929, filed on Feb. 8, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure to the extent such a disclosure is not inconsistent with the disclosure herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17169929 | Feb 2021 | US |
Child | 18133139 | US |