This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) based on provisional patent application no. 61/290,031 filed on December 24, 2009.

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a shower shirt and particularly to a shirt designed for use by patients who have undergone mastectomies, augmentation, reconstruction, breast lift, mastopexy, augmentation/mastopexy and breast reduction procedures. The present invention is designed to protect not only the wound areas of the mastectomy, reconstruction, augmentation, breast lift, mastopexy, augmentation/mastopexy and reduction patient surgical site, but more importantly, protect the drain site, drain tube, and drain bulb while

showering/bathing, and also support the weight of the drain tube and drain bulb while showering/bathing.

Background Art

Various garments and other wearing apparel have been proposed to protect parts of a person's body when taking a shower. These items are designed to be worn over a limb or a person's torso.

However, these types of protective gear do not take into account the fact that many patient's must have drain tubes and bulbs or other medical post surgery devices that stay with the patient as part of their post operative rehabilitation. Therefore, a need exists for improved garments in this respect. The present invention satisfies this need by providing a shower shirt that is designed to keep a user's body and any medical components linked to the body dry during showering as well as providing pockets and drain tube loops to support the weight of the medical components.

Summary of the Invention

The invention relates to a shower shirt designed to be worn by a patient while taking a shower. The shower shirt is designed with closures associated with its openings to prevent water from flowing beneath the shirt. The shower shirt is also designed with pockets to support the drain tubes/bulbs normally present in post operation treatment.

In one embodiment, the shower shirt is a one piece waterproof shirt designed to protect breast surgery patients who have undergone mastectomies, augmentation, reconstruction, breast lift, mastopexy, augmentation/mastopexy and breast reduction procedures from the risk of water invading the surgical sites of the breast incisions, surgical drains, drain tubes, and drain bulbs while bathing or showering. The shower shirt will not only provide waterproof support for the breast incisions and surgical area, but also structural support for the above surgical devices, and optionally with breast baffles for lateral breast support.

In addition, the structurally supportive drain pockets will host the surgical drain tube and drain bulb mechanics, along with an internal loop pocket to hold the multiple 'post' surgical devices in place. The majority of surgical drains (normally 4) utilized for the above procedures are required to be sutured into these types of surgery patients for at least one to three weeks, preventing patients from bathing or showering appropriately post surgery. This type of product will help the patient emotionally, by giving them the freedom to bathe or take a shower before the timeframe when the drain devices are normally removed; the product will help the patient physically by protecting them from water invasion in and around their surgical incisions, and structurally by supporting the post surgical devices. The surgical devices sutured into or under the armpit or along the chest of these patients can be a direct portal into the surgery site possibly causing infection from bacteria in the water. The shower shirt is designed to protect the patient from these types of infections post surgery.

The waterproof 'shower' shirt invention is designed for mastectomy, augmentation, reconstruction, mastopexy, augmentation/mastopexy and breast reduction patients required to have drains placed (post-surgery) under the armpit or a lower location on either side of the chest for fluid drainage from the breast area. The shower shirt can be molded into a short sleeve shirt made of a plastic or nylon material, comparable to the materials utilized for a thick shower cap, with elastic around all perimeters. The shower shirt can be designed with a turtle neck feature at the top of the shirt with a terry cloth fabric, and elastic edges to fit tightly under the jaw line. This terry cloth fabric can also be included as part of the arm and body openings if so desired. In addition, a draw string and hook and loop fastener band can be added at the top of the turtleneck to add an additional seal to further deter any moisture from seeping into or under the shirt while a patient is

showering/bathing. For purposes of this disclosure, showering is intended to encompass both showering and bathing. The shower shirt can have a solid plastic/nylon frontal area with capped sleeves on each arm. The sleeves are optimally designed to hit immediately below the upper arm/deltoid area, and to fit snugly via the elastic surrounding the arm. In addition, a draw string or hook and loop fastener band could be added to the perimeter of each sleeve adding additional support to prevent moisture seepage from entering the side of the shirt under or around the armpit. The shower shirt is sized to fit loosely under the armpit in order to avoid putting any pressure on or around the post-surgical drain device tubes sutured to, and entering the armpit. The shower shirt also includes drain pockets to host the drains bulbs while showering/bathing. The drain pockets are located on the inside of the shirt and can be made in various sizes. One exemplary size would be 3 inches by 3 inches.

The length of the shower shirt to form the bottom opening can vary as well. In one embodiment, the length can extend between two and four inches under the chest/breast area with additional elastic edges fitting snugly under the chest, or former breast area. The length can be longer to extend so that the shirt bottom opening terminates near the waist, at the waist, or even below the waist.

Breast baffles can also be integrated into the garment for support. In one mode, the baffles can be located on each side of the shower shirt under the armpits and/or on each side (vertical) of the breast area to provide lateral support to both the breasts and incision areas.

In addition, loops can be added under the breast baffles to hold the drain tubes in place when sliding the drain bulbs into the drain pocket enclosures.

The shirt can also include a waterproof zipper in the front portion of the 'shirt' to enable patients to easily slide arms into the sleeves of the shower shirt without being required to elevate arms post surgery. The zipper enclosure is waterproof in nature. One example of this type of a zipper is one that includes a waterproof flap behind enclosure, keeping the shirt from any potential water seepage.

The shower shirt could also have snap closures under each armpit extending to the bottom of the shirt to easily maneuver patients into the shirt w/o extending the arms up or out. A double-breasted front closure design using waterproof plastic snaps which would overlay across the front and close can also be employed as an alternative to a zipper.

The shower shirt will come in any number of sizes, S/M, and L/XL. The product is preferably made in a manner that will allow it to be disposable and designed of recycled plastic. The product can also be made of other material that would not necessarily be the type that could be recycled, but would still have the waterproof and sealing attributes described above.

One advantage of the invention is the ability to provide a sense of independence and dignity during recovery to those patients who have undergone mastectomy procedures due to breast cancer. Because this product is a one piece invention created to be utilized by the patient as a shower shirt, the patient can place the product on the body without support of a second person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a front view of shirt according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a detail of a drain pocket of the shirt of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the shower shirt assembly is represented by the reference numeral 10 and includes a shirt 1 that is made from a waterproof material to protect the patient from water invasion while

showering/bathing.

In this disclosed embodiment, shirt 1 includes a waterproof zipper 3 to keep water seepage from entering the shower shirt and waterproof flap 3a located behind the waterproof zipper to lend additional water seepage support. Optionally, two inner breast baffles 5 are located laterally from the breasts to provide lateral support to both the breast and incision area. The baffles can be made from any material with a preferred material being a washable/flexible styrofoam type padding with outer layers of soft, fabric, and attached to the shirt in any conventional fashion, stitching, adhesive, velcro, fasteners, or a combination of one or more of these attachment means.

Two inner pockets 7 are located on an inside of the shirt on a front side thereof to structurally support post surgical devices, e.g., a drain tube and/or drain bulb). It is preferred to have the pockets 7 on the inside front of the shirt 1, but other locations can also be employed, i.e., the back and sides. The pockets can be of any size provided that they can hold at least one post surgical device, e.g., a drain bulb or a portion of the tubing and drain bulb(s). While two pockets are disclosed, a single pocket or more than two pockets could be employed depending on the post surgical devices associated with the patient. A single pocket would be sized to accommodate all of the post surgical devices. The pockets can be made from the same material as the shirt or a different material if so desired. The pockets can be attached using stitching, adhesives, mechanical fastening, or a combination of one or more of these fastening techniques.

The pockets 7 can include hook and loop fasteners 8 on the inside of the pockets to keep the pockets closed, if desired. While hook and loop fasteners are disclosed, other means for keeping the pockets closed, e.g., snaps, buttons, etc. could be used in place of the fasteners 8.

The shirt 1 is made with a neck opening 20, a pair of arm openings 30, and a shirt bottom opening 40. The bottom opening 40 has an elastic band 9 that forms a watertight seal. The shirt 1 is shown with a low-to-mid torso length but other lengths such as nearer to the waist, at the waist, or even below the waist, if so desired, can be used.

The arm openings 30 each have elastic sleeve bands 11 to keep water from seeping in under the armpit area. Each arm opening can also have a cinch strap 11a w/hook and loop fastening means to support the elastic neck band and provide further sealing against water entry. The cinch strap is a strap with one end attached to shirt near the arm opening and the other end having either hooks or loops of hook and loop fastening means. The complementary hooks or loops are located on the shirt. Pulling the strap cinches the arm opening and the strap in the cinched position is held in place by attaching the free end of the strap with hooks, for example, to loops on the shirt. While the cinch strap is described with hook and loop fastening means, other fastening means such as snaps, buttons, clips, a drawstring, etc. can be used.

The neck opening 20 has an elastic neck band 13 to keep the shower shirt fitted snugly under the jawline keeping water from invading into the top of the shower shirt. The neck opening can also have a neck cinch strap 13a w/hook and loop fastening means to support the elastic neck band and provide further sealing against water entry. While the cinch strap is described with hook and loop fastening means, other fastening means such as snaps, buttons, drawstrings, clips, etc. can be used.

Each sleeve casing 17 is sized to cover the shoulder area and drain suture locations, with the capped sleeves designed to fit snugly around the deltoid area of the upper arm to keep water from seeping in under the armpit area and to also form a protective waterproof casing around the drain sutures, which are typically sutured under the armpits or upper torso.

The shirt 1 can also include a pair of inner drain tube straps w/hook and loop fastening means to keep internal drain tubes in place. These straps, when ends are linked together by the hook and loop fastening means, form a loop to support the drain tube extending from the patient's body to the drain bulb held in the pocket. While hook and loop fasteners are shown, other means for forming a loop can be employed, e.g., straps with snaps, buttons, etc.

The shirt bottom opening can also have cinch strap 9a similar to that shown for the neck and arm openings.

The shirt can also display one or more logos as well. A breast cancer logo 21 is shown as an example of a logo. In addition, the shirt can also be worn as a fashion item.

As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfills each and every one of the objects of the present invention as set forth above and provides a new and improved garment for breast cancer patients.

Of course, various changes, modifications and alterations from the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof. It is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.