US2555086A - Colostomy protector - Google Patents

Description

May 29, 1951 J. E. GUINN 2,555,086

COLOSTOMY PROTECTOR Filed June 7', 1950 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNE Y,

Patented May 29, 1951 ES PATENT Fl CE 'GOEGSTUMY PROTECTOR J Edwin: Guinn; Ithaca, N. Y.-,. assignor to: Etna Appliance and Equipment-. 00.. Inc., Dryden, vN.-Y., a-corporationof New York Ap iicatioimime'i; 1950; Serial No; 166598 Z-CIaims. 1

This device isparticularly usefulte those who haveundergonethe operation known-as a colos tomy,. by which the normal outlet of the" lower intestine is changed to an opening in. the ab dominal wall. made by an incision in the: side; Since the personhas little control over the: dis charges it is necessary that. some'sortof: a recep' tacle be: worn, if: the person is to' lead: any sort of a normallyactive life. The collostomy sacks: previouslyused have not been entirely satisfactory for a number ofreasons. They" haveusually involved a. rubber sack, or at least a: rub ber'washer against the skin around. the colostomy opening. Rubber: and other soft materials have a tendency to absorb odors which cannot be entirely removed by ordinary washing; and amtbroad soft washer element tends to cause per-- spiration and chafing. In any article continu-- ously worn on the body it is important that the: skin be maintained in as: normally dry condi-- tionas possible. Another source of odor has been thegases over which the patient has no voluntary control; It has also been foundthatloose bags or sacks tended to'become"bu1ky,.were hardto cleamand because of the looseness'pre-' cluded the person from taking part in various beneficial sports such as: swimmihg,.-Iorig.walks=ordancing.

The objects of the presentinvention are to provide a colostomy-protector which canbe" com fortably' worn without attracting: attention; that will be lighter and more durable than previous devices; that can be easily cleaned and will not absorb odors; that will eliminate all rubber or other soft material's thereceptaele or against the skin;- provide for the neutralization of. gaseous odors; and to permit light te pass thrmthe: device for its beneficial action on the skin.

Other objects are to encourage more normal physical activities to benefit the general healthto reduce the cost of manufacture; an'd t'o re duce the cost-to thepatientr Unlike some' ofthe more elaborate devicesnow cm the market} the present device, with reasonable care. will last a long time.

Referring now to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front view of the device.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. l, as seen from the lower side.

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing in greater detail the odor neutralizing apparatus, the body pressure plate and seals.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3 showing the separator plate in the odor neutralizing device.

Fig. 5* illustrates the general manner of wear ing the colostomy protector and belt.

Similar reference: nume'rais refer to similar parts thruout the variousl views Referring now to Fig.1 1", the colostomy protec' tor consistsof a-receptacle or chamber I having a; generally" rectangularshapeas viewed: from the front andprovided with sloping. walls 2' in'- clining inward toward the top or outward to ward. the? body; this taper-ed form being. best illustrated in Fig; 2 and Fig. 3.

In Fig.- 3 the: humanbody 3 is show'n having; the colostomy opening eta-m which. digested'ma terialflowsiinto the chamber- I. The-colostomy protector is held place on: thepersons bod-3f by" a strap or belt- 5 asshown in Fig. 5;. the: belt 5 preferably ending; in: pairs of; attaching tapes GhaVin'gLiastener-s 'lf'aszshown ini-Fig l and Fig.2: 'I' he'se tapes. 6 pass thru: the: slots 8 the" outer flange-or rim 9* of the protector;

While: the: chamber I is approximately rectan gular as'viewedimFig. I.,.i=t's rimawhe're'it touches the'body is not of strictly" straight linesg but is curved on arcsto fit the normalzcontours of the body'a's shown inzFig. 2 and Fig. 3 Though the general configuration of:- the: protector is accord ingly convex. itsr'outer flange: 9 is: eurled back as: shown best at the right and. left of Fig. 3; the curl going; all theway around the: protector as indicated in: dottedl'ine, the outer edge of the: flange siterminatingi in a s'm'oothly rounded: bead 9 This upward or outward: curve of the: rim 9 and its smoothly rounded edge 9 permit the person to bend: freely and takeany normal positure without danger of chafing; or cutting? the skim The slots e are located near the edge- 8 and: far enough uponthe curled back r-im 9' so that the tapes aarenot-pressedinto the person'fs body by the underside'ofi the rim 9".

At the inner: side' of: the flange 9 and under the base of the'slopingwall' 2- there is provided: a rounded groove ur which:v has no sharp edges to out the: ski-n1 but creates a natural seali 5y reason of the skin projecting into the groove Ii] when in use. On the innermost side of this sealing groove H! a rounded wall H provides the primary or first seal which the eflluvia in the colostomy protector meets. An efiiuvia which works past that point encounters the rounded groove in as the second seal; and finally the broad flange 9 which is close against the skin for a considerable distance constitutes the tertiary or outer seal.

It is important that these seals, and indeed any portion of the apparatus that may come into contact with the efiluvia, should not involve the use of rubber or other soft material which might have a tendency to absorb odors. It has been found that odors penetrate rubber and often cannot be eradicated by washing.

In any such apparatus that must be continuously Worn there is always the danger of harming the skin. Therefore not only should the device be hard and impervious to moisture and acids, and without sharp corners or edges, but also it should in all ways provide as natural conditions as possible. This colostomy protector is therefore made of translucent or transparent plastic material. This permits some light to reach the skin from time to time as on other portions of the body that are usually covered, with a generally beneficial effect. In addition this provides a window or translucent panel thru which the wearer may observe the conditions within the receptacle. Furthermore, when light can pass thru the device, it is more likely to be thoroughly washed and cleaned.

In addition to the digested material discharging from the colostomy, there is also considerable gas. Since the patient has no voluntary control of this gas, its odor may become embarrassing. If not allowed to escape it may create dangerous pressures. There is therefore provided a deodorizing filter l covered by a removable cap l6 having orifices [1 thru which gas can escape. This cap I6 is screwed on the rim 18 of the main opening IS in the top of the chamber l. A perforated disk 20, best seen in Fig. 4, may be used to support the filter pad I5. Where the filter I5 is of sufficiently rigid material the separator 20 may be omitted. Numerous deodorizing materials permeable to gas are well known in the art, and this construction permits the use of almost any of them as desired. The filter material can be readily changed by unscrewing the cap I6, and there is nothing in the rest of the device to hold or absorb odors.

The particularly advantages of this form of colostomy protector are as follows: the device is sufiiciently rigid and compact so that it does not attract attention with ordinary clothes or even with a bathing suit, and it can be comfortably worn; being principally of one piece it is simple to manufacture, and less expensive than the sack types. It is light and durable, with no parts toreplace except the deodorizing material. The device is much easier to keep clean than more complicated types, and there is no rubber to absorb odor. Finally, its transparency makes it possible for the user to take better care of himself and the apparatus, warning him when it is getting too full, assisting him to clean it, and permitting the light to reach the skin.

While I have in the foregoing described a certain specific form of the device by Way of example, it will be understood that it is merely for purposes of illustration to make clear the principles of the invention, which is not limited to the parassaoso' ticular form shown but is susceptible to various modifications and adaptations in different installations as will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as stated in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a colostomy protector, the combination of a chamber having tapering walls and a translucent top, said top having an'orifice, a cap on said orifice, said cap having ventilating holes, a deodorant for neutralizing gases passing thru said cap, the base of said tapering walls having an inner rounded edge extending around the chamberto act as a primary seal against the escape of efiluvia from within the chamber, a secondary seal consisting of a rounded groove immediately back of the primary seal and extending around the chamber, a tertiary seal consisting of a rim flange extending around the chamber and adapted to contact the body near the chamber, said rim having an outer portion of the flange curved away from the body, said outer portion having a smoothly rounded edge, slots in said flange near said edge to hold a supporting belt, the primary, secondary and tertiary sealing portions as they extend around the chamber being curved to approximate the contours of the body where they press upon it so as to avoid con centration of pressure on the patients skin.

2. In a colostomy protector, the combination of a chamber having tapering walls and a top, said top having an orifice, a cap on said orifice, said cap having ventilating holes, a deodorant for neutralizing gases passing thru said cap, the base of said tapering walls having an inner rounded .edge extending around the chamberto act as a primary seal against the escape of effluvia from within the chamber, a secondary seal consisting of a rounded groove immediately back of the primary seal and extending around the chamber, a tertiary seal consisting of a rim flange extending around the chamber and adapted to contact the body near the chamber, said rim having an outer portion of the flange curved away from the body, said outer portion having .a smoothly rounded edge, slots in said flange near said edge to hold a supporting belt, the primary, secondary and tertiary sealing portions as theyextend around the chamber being curved to approximate the contours of the body where theypress upon it so as to avoid concentration of pressure on the patients skin.

' J. EDWIN GUINN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,048,392 Koenig July 21, 1936 2,221,321 Foron Nov. 12, 1940 2,524,750 Bellinger Oct. 10, 1950

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