External breast prosthesis
First Claim
1. An external breast prosthesis primarily for mastectomy patients comprising a thin flexible shell of an elastomeric material contoured to conform to the configuration of the breast of the patient and having a peripheral edge extending around the entire periphery of said shell for attachment by an adhesive to the chest wall of the patient and a filler retained within the confines of said thin shell having soft flexible physical characteristics, said shell having a rear portion that is concave within the confines of said peripheral edge so that the prosthesis can be attached at said peripheral edge to the chest wall of a patient to provide within the peripheral edge a chamber of air over the surgical area of the surgical area of the mastectomy, said peripheral edge including an inferior flap, a lateral flap, a superior flap and a medial flap, said inferior, lateral and superior flaps extending in directions away from said concave rear portion and said medial flap extending inward toward said concave rear portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
To provide a univeral breast prosthesis usable as a substitute for either the right or left breast and for patients who have had varying degrees of surgery, scarring, muscle removal and the like, a breast prosthesis is provided having an upper flap and symmetrical lateral flaps. The upper flap is designed to cover subclavicular defects of varying degrees and can be trimmed as desired depending on the nature and extent of the defect to be covered. Similarly, the opposite lateral flaps are designed to cover sternum and underarm defects, and each can be separately trimmed depending upon the nature and extent of the respective defects.
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Citations
24 Claims
- 1. An external breast prosthesis primarily for mastectomy patients comprising a thin flexible shell of an elastomeric material contoured to conform to the configuration of the breast of the patient and having a peripheral edge extending around the entire periphery of said shell for attachment by an adhesive to the chest wall of the patient and a filler retained within the confines of said thin shell having soft flexible physical characteristics, said shell having a rear portion that is concave within the confines of said peripheral edge so that the prosthesis can be attached at said peripheral edge to the chest wall of a patient to provide within the peripheral edge a chamber of air over the surgical area of the surgical area of the mastectomy, said peripheral edge including an inferior flap, a lateral flap, a superior flap and a medial flap, said inferior, lateral and superior flaps extending in directions away from said concave rear portion and said medial flap extending inward toward said concave rear portion.
- 10. An external breast prosthesis for mastectomy patients comprising a thin flexible shell of an elastomeric material contoured to conform to the configuration of the breast of the patient and having a peripheral edge extending around the entire periphery of the shell, a thin flexible backing member secured to the peripheral edge of said shell and providing a concave rear portion within the confines of the peripheral edge, said shell and said backing member being dimensioned to form an inferior flap, a lateral flap and a superior flap extending away from said concave rear portion, and a medial flap extending inward toward said concave rear portion, said flaps being adapted to be attached by an adhesive to the chest wall of the patient and the concave rear portion being dimensioned so that when the flaps are attached the concave rear portion will define an air chamber over the surgical area of the mastectomy, said shell and said concave rear portion defining an anterior chamber, and a fluid material confined within said anterior chamber.
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15. An external breast prosthesis primarily for mastectomy patients comprising:
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a thin flexible fluid impervious shell of elastomeric material defined by a convex front section configured in the shape of a female breast and a concave rear section, said front and rear sections joining each other along a generally circular periphery to define a fluid-tight sealed cavity, said concave rear section defining an air chamber when placed over a wearer'"'"'s chest wall in the region of a removed breast to reduce chaffing promote air circulation and provide an air cushion between the underlying chest wall and said prosthesis in the region of said removed breast, a liquid contained within said cavity having a density approximately that of a natural breast, an upper flap extending upwardly from said periphery of said shell, said flap configured to cover subclavicular defects resulting from a mastectomy when said concave rear section is disposed over a wearer'"'"'s chest in the region of a removed breast, first and second lateral flaps extending laterally from said shell periphery in opposite directions symmetrically relative to said upper flap to facilitate use of said prosthesis as a substitute for both left and right breasts, said first and second flaps configured to respectively cover lateral and sternum defects resulting from a mastectomy when said concave rear section is disposed over a wearer'"'"'s chest in the region of a removed breast, each of said flaps being removable in whole and/or in part for tailoring the coverage provided by said flaps to the subclavicular, sternum and lateral defects of the wearer without destroying the fluid-tight chamber of said sealed cavity and the air circulation, antichaffing and cushioning action provided by said air chamber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification