US2815025A - Liver bile pouch - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 3,' 1957 L. FENTQN ET AL LIVER BILE POUCH Filed Feb. 16, 1956 5 mazf n d m m Gm Wm M s W ea United States Patent M LIVER BHLE POUCH Leonard Eenton. and" Jane S-. Geller, Shaker: Heights, Ohio; said Geller assignor to said Fenton Application February 16, 1956, Serial NO- 6,944

5 Claims. (Cl. 128-275) This invention relatesv to receptacles or pouches forcollecting drainage of liver bile discharge. from. the conventional T-tube which protrudes from the abdomenand. communicates with the common duct following operations on; the biliary tract. In the. course. of operations on the biliary tract (on or about the gall bladder and ducts. between. the liver andtlie intestines) a Ff-tube has its cross arm or short arm. disposed in. the common duct connecting the liver to the intestines, as a stent, and the long arm of the T-tube projects through an incision in the wall of the common duct; and out through an incision in the. abdomen to provide a drainage outlet for excess. quantities of bile during the immediate post+operative period. In addition, the Tt-tube serves to provide an opening forinjection of'dye into the biliary tract in connection With-.X-ray examinations and for injection of medication to dissolve residual stones that: may not have been removed from the biliary tract during an operation for that purpose.

Observation. of the quantity of drainage from the T- tube is important in determining the condition and rate of recovery of the patient following such operations, and drainage from the long arm of the T-tube has heretofore been conducted through a flexible connecting tube of rubber or the like, to a bottle. The use. of. such means for: collecting drainage from the long arm. of the T tube is an inconvenience to the patient, both while still confined in bed and after he is able to walk about in the hospital prior to final removal of the T-tube. The principal object of the present. invention is to provide a more convenient and satisfactory receptacle for collecting drainage from the long arm of the Ii-tube, both during and following the period. of confinement of the patient to bed in the hospital.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an expandable receptacle or pouch capable of receiving drainage from the long arm of the T-tube without creating a back pressure, and capable of being conveniently strapped to the body of the patient by means of a simple belt or tape on the patients waist, thereby dispensing with the inconvenient bottle heretofore used for that purpose and giving the patient more freedom of movement while in bed and enabling him to walk about thereafter without having to carry the bottle.

Further objects of the invention are to accomplish the foregoing objectives with a pouch of simple and inexpensive construction and to provide such a pouch having an inlet opening adapted to be conveniently connected to and removed from the long arm of the T-tube without danger of accidental disconnection or of blocking the pouch inlet by collapsing of the inlet opening as the patient moves his body while wearing the pouch.

An example of the invention is described below and in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan View of a device embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure l.

2,815,,fi25 Patented Dec. 3, 1957 Eigure 3 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 4-.-4. in; Figure 3-.

The device comprises a flat receptacle or pouch 10.

of: oblong shape, the diametrically opposite corners of this pouch which are indicated at 11 and 12 being provided respectively with inlet and outlet means. The pouch-is fabricated from a suitable flexible, heat-scalable plastic. Open-ended necks. 13 and 14 are formed at the corners 11 and 12: respectively. Except at the open ends, of these necks, the opposite faces of the pouch 10 are seamed together around all side edges by the heat seals 15.

The inlet means. includes a tube 17 which terminates at one end exteriorly of the pouch and at the other end interiorly of the pouch. The tube 17 extends, as shown, through. the neck 13 and further extends adjacent that side edge: of the pouch which is associated with the; corner 11; The tube is held in such adjacent position by a supplementary heat seal 18. The portion 15A of the; heat seal 15 is apposite the tube 17, and preferably both. this portion 15A and the heat seal 18 extend to. the very sides of the tube 17 along. a considerable length thereof to assure that no leakage can occur around the sides of the tube. The T-tube 20 to be employed with the. device. may have a short plastic tube 21 inserted in its long arm. The end of the tube 211 which extends away from the T-tube 20. may be of reduced diameter and. be. adapted to be snugly but releasably received within the tube 17;

The outlet means may consist of merely the outlet neck 14::which. may be reversely folded and closed by means of a conventional spring clip 23.

At least one face of the pouch 10. is provided with a plurality of short straps 25 which are heat sealed at their ends to the pouch. One of the straps 25 is located adjacent the corner 11, another of the straps 25 is located towarclthe opposite side edge of the pouch slightly below the level of the first strap, and a third strap 25 is located between the side edges of the pouch and well below the first strap. The straps 25 are designed to receive belts or tapes, such as the belt 26, for supporting the pouch 10 onthe body of the patient, and the arrangement of the straps as described facilitates convenient and. easy mounting of the. pouch in the positions which the functions ofthe. device make desirable.

The. describeddevice isof simple and inexpensive construction, yet it' isadmirably suited to its intended functions. The pouch provides a relatively neat and comfortable arrangement for the patient and it is conveniently portable. As the pouch fills with liquid, it gently expands, avoiding any back pressure which might inhibit proper drainage. With the tube 17 firmly anchored or or supported against one edge of the pouch, as described, yawing or play of the tube is prevented, and the snug fit of the tube 21 within the tube 17 remains firm and secure until it is intentionally loosened to disconnect the pouch from the T-tube. The tube 17 may be made of flexible plastic, yet rigid enough to avoid collapsing when bent at a considerable angle. The smooth inner and outer surfaces of the pouch and associated tubular members are readily cleaned; in particular, the bottom of the pouch is devoid of any sediment-catching crevices. Though designed particularly for the purpose described above, the device of the invention is adapted for advantageous use to collect the drainage of other body fluids, and the invention is not limited to its use for the particular purpose described.

All the precise details of the example of the invention described above are not necessarily of critical importance in attaining the advantageous results of the invention,

Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited to all such details but is defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for collecting drainage from the biliary tract, comprising an oblong flat expandable liquid-tight pouch defined by a pair of overlying coterminous faces of flexible web material heat sealed to each other along their edges, said pouch having a first open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a first corner thereof adjacent a first edge thereof, and a second open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a second corner thereof which is diametrically opposite said first corner and in substantial alignment with the interior boundary of the pouch along the opposite. edge thereof, a pouch tube extending through said first neck and longitudinally into the pouch adjacent said first edge thereof, said neck being heat sealed against the outside of said tube, means to releasably couple a T-tube to said pouch tube, and means to releasably close said second neck.

2. A device for collecting drainage from the biliary tract, comprising an oblong flat expandable liquid-tight pouch defined by a pair of overlying coterminous faces of flexible web material heat sealed to each other along their edges, said pouch having a first open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a first corner thereof adjacent a first edge thereof, and a second open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a second corner thereof which is diametriaclly opposite said first corner and in substantial alignment with the interior boundary of the pouch along the opposite edge thereof, a pouch extending through said first neck, said neck being heat sealed against the outside of said tube, said pouch tube extending from the open end of said first neck and longitudinally into the interior of said pouch in adjacency to said first edge of the pouch, said faces being heat sealed to each other at a location adjacent said tube and on the opposite side of said tube from said first edge to maintain said adjacency, means to releasably couple a T-tube to said pouch tube, and means to releasably close said second neck.

3. A device for collecting drainage from the biliary tract, comprising an oblong flat expandable liquid-tight pouch defined by a pair of overlying coterminous faces of flexible web material heat sealed to each other along their edges, said pouch having a first open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a first corner thereof and a second open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a second corner thereof which is diametrically opposite said first corner, a pouch tube extending through said first neck, said neck being heat sealed against the outside of said tube, a plurality of short straps heat sealed at both their ends to the outside of one of said faces at spaced locations from each other, at least one of said straps being located adjacent said first corner, means to releasably couple a T-tube to said pouch tube, and means to releasably close said second neck.

4. A device for collecting drainage from the biliary tract, comprising an oblong flat expandable liquid-tight pouch defined by a pair of overlying coterminous faces of flexible Web material heat sealed to each other along their edges, said pouch having a first open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a first corner thereof and a second open-ended neck extending longitudinally from a second corner thereof which is diametrically opposite said first corner, a pouch tube extending through said first neck, said neck being heat sealed against the outside of said tube, said pouch tube extending from the open end of said first neck to the interior of said pouch in ad jacency to the side edge of said pouch associated with said first neck, said faces being heat sealed to each other at a location adjacent said tube and on the opposite side of said tube from said side edge to maintain said adjacency, a plurality of short straps heat sealed at both their ends to the outside of one of said faces at spaced locations from each other, at least one of said straps being located adjacent said first corner, means to releasably couple a T-tube to said pouch tube, and means to releasably close said second neck.

5. A device for collecting drainage from the biliary tract, comprising a generally rectangular flat expandable liquid-tight pouch defined by a pair of overlying coterminous faces of flexible Web material heat sealed to each other along their edges, said pouch having a first open-ended neck extending from a first corner thereof adjacent a first edge thereof, and a second open-ended neck extending from a second corner thereof which is diametrically opposite said first corner and in substantial alignment with the interior boundary of the pouch along the opposite edge thereof, flow confining means associated with said first neck for releasable coupling to a T-tube, said flow confining means communicating with the interior of said pouch through said first neck for receiving fluid from said T-tube and discharging it into said pouch at a location closely adjacent said first edge thereof and relatively much farther from said opposite edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 35,338 Vedder May 20, 1862 2,612,895 Magee Oct. 7, 1952 2,640,484 Johnson June 2, 1953 2,702,034 Walter Feb. 15, 1955

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