Tissue expander with protection against accidental puncture
AssigneeMentor Corporation
InventorsRobert L. Guest, Anita M. Falcon, James Harlow, John Labarge
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Abstract
The mammary prostheses of the invention have a self-sealing area in the upper pole region of the anterior face. The self-sealing area is greater than that of a traditional filling port, and reduces the severity of the consequences of an inadvertent puncture by a hypodermic needle during the filling process. Also, this self-sealing area is thicker than the material in the other areas of the prosthesis, causing fluid introduced to the prosthesis to stay in the lower pole region of the prosthesis, making the shape of the prosthesis appear more like that of a natural breast.
Claims17
A mammary tissue expander comprising a shell having an anterior face and a posterior face, the anterior face having an upper pole portion and lower pole portion meeting at an apex, the prosthesis comprising a self-sealing material bonded to the shell within the upper pole of the anterior face of the shell to create a self-sealing region of the expander that is self-sealing after needle puncture.
The tissue expander of claim one further comprising an injection port located within the self-sealing region of the expander.
An improved method for introducing a swelling agent into an assembly comprising at least one layer of fabric and at least one layer of elastomeric material, the method comprising:
- a) providing an assembly comprising at least one layer of fabric bonded to at least one layer of elastomeric material;
- b) immersing the assembly in a swelling agent under conditions of reduced atmospheric pressure for a time sufficient to allow the swelling agent to enter the at least a portion of the elastomeric material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.