Self-contained, combined irrigator and evacuator for wounds

A self-contained combined irrigator and evacuator for use in bathing a wound with an irrigated liquid and removing liquid from the wound, comprising:

• (a) a substantially rigid container having substantially flat first and second spaced apart side walls, third and fourth side walls joined to the opposite ends of and spaced apart farther than said first and second side walls, and a bottom wall joining all four side walls, said four side walls being joined at their tops to form an irrigation port communicating with the interior of said container;
• (b) a substantially cylindrical, resilient bladder having a single opening, said bladder being within said container and said bladder opening being in fluid flow communication with said irrigation port, said third and fourth side walls having a configuration substantially conforming to the natural, unimpeded shape of the adjacent portion of said bladder when inflated;
• (c) an inlet passageway in one of said third and fourth side walls and an outlet passageway in the other of said third and fourth side walls, said passageways communicating with the interior of said container and being proximate to and on opposite sides of said irrigation port;
• (d) means for selectively permitting and preventing fluid flow through said passageways;
• (e) means in fluid-flow communication with said irrigation port for simultaneously inflating and filling said bladder against its resilient bias with said irrigating liquid;
• and
• (f) means for preventing fluid flow between the interior of said bladder and the interior of said container exterior said bladder, the former being a pressure-irrigating section wherein the bias of the bladder when inflated and filled tends to expel said irrigating liquid under positive pressure through said irrigation port and the latter being a suction-evacuating section wherein deflation of said bladder creates a negative pressure in said container which may be used to aspirate fluid through said inlet passageway.

A self-contained, combined irrigator and evacuator for use in bathing a wound with an irrigating liquid and removing liquid from the wound, comprising:

• (a) a substantially rigid container having substantially flat first and second spaced apart side walls, third and fourth side walls joined to the opposite ends of and spaced apart farther than said first and second side walls, and a bottom wall joining all four side walls, said four side walls being joined at their tops to form an irrigation port communicating with the interior of said container;
• (b) a substantially cylindrical, resilient bladder having a single opening, said bladder being within said container and said bladder opening being in fluid flow communication with said irrigation port, said third and fourth side walls having a configuration substantially conforming to the natural, unimpeded shape of the adjacent portion of said bladder when inflated;
• (c) an inlet passageway in one of said third and fourth side walls and an outlet passageway in the other of said third and fourth side walls, said passageways communicating with the interior of said container and being proximate to and on opposite sides of said irrigation port;
• (d) means for selectively permitting and preventing fluid flow through said passageways;
• (e) a hand-operated, resilient bulbous member exterior to said container having a neck portion defining an opening and a second opening opposite said neck opening, the resiliency of said bulbous member being greater than that of said bladder, the neck of said bulbous member being mounted in fluid flow communication with said bladder opening through said irrigation port;
• (f) flow control means mounted on and controlling flow through said neck opening and mounted on and controlling flow through said second opening of said bulbous member for enabling compression of said bulbous member to inflate and fill said bladder against its bias with irrigating liquid at a higher rate than liquid can be expelled from said bladder by its resilient bias;
• (g) means on said second opening of said bulbous member for permitting attachment of a fluid conduit in fluid flow communication with said bulbous member;
• (h) means on said outlet passageway for selective obturation of said outlet passageway;
• and
• (i) means for sealingly attaching said bladder opening to said neck opening of said bulbous member.

A method of concurrently irrigating and evacuating a wound site through the use of a single, portable device, comprising:

• (a) increasing the volume of a first chamber against a bias while simultaneously reducing the volume of a second chamber, said bias opposing said volume reduction;
• (b) filling said first chamber with an irrigating liquid;
• (c) connecting said first chamber to said wound site by a first fluid conduit means;
• (d) connecting said second chamber to said wound site by a second fluid conduit means;
• (e) permitting said bias to contract said first chamber thereby expelling said irrigating liquid from said first chamber to said wound site while simultaneously expanding the volume of said second chamber and creating a negative pressure in said second chamber;
• and
• (f) aspirating liquid from said wound site by means of said negative pressure created in said second chamber.

A self-contained, combined irrigator and evacuator for use in bathing a wound with an irrigating liquid and removing liquid from the wound, comprising:

• (a) a resilient container having substantially flat first and second spaced apart side walls, third and fourth side walls joined to the opposite ends of and spaced apart farther than the first and second side walls, and a bottom wall joining all four side walls, the four side walls being joined at their tops to form an irrigation port communicating with the interior of said container;
• (b) a substantially cylindrical, resilient bladder having a single opening, said bladder being within said container and said bladder opening being in fluid flow communication with said irrigation port, said third and fourth side walls having a configuration substantially conforming to the natural, unimpeded shape of the adjacent portions of said bladder when inflated;
• (c) an inlet passageway in one of said third and fourth side walls and an outlet passageway in the other of said third and fourth side walls, said passageways communicating with the interior of said container and being proximate to and on opposite sides of said irrigation port;
• (d) means for selectively permitting and preventing fluid flow through said passageways;
• (e) flow control means mounted on and controlling flow through said irrigation port for enabling inflating and filling said bladder against its resilient bias with said irrigating liquid and for restricting the rate the bias of said bladder expels irrigating liquid from said bladder, said flow control means permitting squeezing and releasing the first and second side walls of said container creating negative pressure in said bladder for aspirating said irrigating liquid into and filling said bladder against said bias;
• (f) means on said irrigation port for permitting attachment in fluid flow communication of a fluid conduit;
• and
• (g) means for sealingly attaching said bladder opening to said irrigation port, whereby the bias of said bladder tends to expel said irrigating liquid through said irrigation port and deflate said bladder, with said outlet passageway obturated, creates negative pressure in said container at said inlet passageway.