Retention suture system

Claim 2

A retaining bar for use in a retention system for safeguarding a surgical incision that includes an elongated plate formed of a relatively rigid material that is capable of flexing without breaking, a pad securely affixed to the bottom surface of the plate for contacting the skin adjacent the incision, said pad being formed of a resilient open-celled material that is capable of conforming to the contour of the skin while, at the same time, permitting air to contact the skin, said cojoined plate and pad having at least one suture hole pair passing downwardly therethrough with the holes being located upon the longitudinal axis of the plate and being spaced apart at a distance substantially equal to the width of said plate, and said plate further including laterally extended notches recessed into the top surface thereof that span the lateral axis of the plate midway between each of the holes in the hole pair, and the entire lower edge of the plate containing a gently rolled corner to prevent damaging the skin as the bar is drawn thereagainst.

Claim 3

The bar of claim 1 wherein the cojoined plate and pad contain a plurality of hole pairs and wherein the hole pairs are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the bar.

Claim 4

A retention system for safeguarding a surgical incision including at least one pair of elongated retaining bars of similar construction with the bars being parallelly aligned on either side of the incision in contact against the skin, each of said bars further including a relatively strong plastic upper plate to the bottom surface of which is securely affixed a complimentary pad formed of an open-celled resilient material that is capable of conforming to the skin contour and permitting air to reach the skin, said bars each containing a series of hole pairs spaced apart along the axis of the bar at a distance that is substantially equal to the width of the bar and also having laterally extended notches positioned between each of the holes in a hole pair, said notches being recessed into the top surface of the bar so as to span the axis thereof, and suture means for joining the bars that includes a suture being arranged to pass beneath the skin between corresponding holes of adjacent hole pairs contained in each of the bars with the suture extending axially along the top surface of the bar between each hole in a hole pair whereby a substantial uniform holding pressure is applied to the skin across the entire area of the bar when the sutures are tied off.

Claim 5

A retention system for safeguarding a surgical incision including at least one pair of elongated retaining bars of similar construction with the bars being parallelly aligned on either side of the incision in contact against the skin, each of said bars further including a relatively strong plastic upper plate to the bottom surface of which is securely affixed a complimentary pad formed of an open-celled resilient material that is capable of conforming to the skin contour and permitting air to reach the skin, said bars each containing a series of hole pairs spaced apart along the axis of the bar at a distance that is substantially equal to the width of the bar and also having laterally extended notches positioned between each of the holes in a hole pair, said notches being recessed into the top surface of the bar so as to span the axis thereof, and suture means for joining the bars that includes a suture being arranged to pass beneath the skin between corresponding holes of adjacent hole pairs contained in each of the bars with the suture extending axially along the top surface of the bar between each hole in a hole pair whereby a substantial uniform holding pressure is applied to the skin across the entire area of the bar when the sutures are tied off.

Claim 6

The retention system of claim 3 wherein the plate of each bar further includes a rounded lower edge extending about the entire periphery thereof to prevent damaging the skin when the sutures are tied off.

Claim 7

The retention system of claim 4 wherein the ends of each bar are semicircular in form.