Cloth-like material for forming a surgical gown and/or a surgical drape and method of making the same

In a cloth-like material for forming a surgical gown and/or a surgical drape, the improvement wherein said material comprises a three-layer flexible laminate having a middle layer of plastic film material and two outer layers of plastic fabric material secured to opposed sides of said middle layer, said middle layer being substantially waterproof and air breathable, one of said outer layers being substantially dimensionally stable, the other of said outer layers being substantially dimensionally unstable so as to generally conform to said one outer layer, said outer layers being secured to said middle layer by adhesive means, said one outer layer comprising a poplin weave of a polyester continuous filament yarn, said other outer layer comprising a tri-cot knit of a polyester continuous filament yarn, said middle layer comprising an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene micro-porous film.

In a method of making a cloth-like material for forming a surgical gown and/or a surgical drape, the improvement comprising the steps of forming a three-layer flexible laminate having a middle layer of plastic film material and two outer layers of plastic fabric material secured to opposed sides of said middle layer with adhesive means, forming said middle layer to be substantially micro-porous and thereby be substantially waterproof and air breathable, forming one of said outer layers to be a woven plastic fabric material and thereby be substantially dimensionally stable, and forming the other of said outer layers to be a knitted plastic fabric material and thereby be substantially dimensionally unstable so as to generally conform to said one outer layer.

In a method of making a cloth-like material for forming a surgical gown and/or a surgical drape, the improvement comprising the steps of forming a three-layer flexible laminate having a middle layer of plastic film material and two outer layers of plastic fabric material secured to opposed sides of said middle layer, forming said middle layer to be substantially waterproof and air breathable, forming one of said outer layers to be substantially dimensionally stable, forming the other of said outer layers to be substantially dimensionally unstable so as to generally conform to said one outer layer, securing said outer layers to said middle layer with adhesive means, forming said one outer layer to comprise a poplin weave of a polyester continuous filament yarn, forming said other outer layer to comprise a tri-cot knit of a polyester continuous filament yarn, and forming said middle layer to comprise an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene micro-porous film.