Background of the Invention Wound dressings are typically held in place by bandages wrapped several times around the wound dressing, and the limb (or other body area) on which the wound occurs. Consequently, securing and changing the wound dressing is a time consuming task. Alternatively, the wound dressing in held in place by tape adhered to the wound dressing and the patient's skin. In this case, removing and changing the wound dressing can result in irritation of the patient's skin.

Summary of the Invention A wound dresssing holder is provided to hold a wound dressing in place.

According to a preferred embodiment, a wound dressing holder is provided that includes a single piece of stretchable material, and a fastener attached to one end of the single piece. The fastener is to be removably secured to a first side of the single piece to hold a wound dressing in place. The fastener can be secured anywhere along the first side of the single piece.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a wound dressing holder wrap in use, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the wound dressing holder wrap of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the wound dressing holder wrap of Figures 1 and 2 in a non-secured state; and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along lines 4-4 of Figure 3;

Detailed Description Figures 1-4 show a wound dressing holder wrap 10 according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. The wound dressing holder wrap 10 is used to hold a primary wound dressing (not shown) in place, or, alternatively, can also be used to secure a secondary wound dressing 20 (including absorbent pads 20a and 20b) in place.

Figure 1 shows the wound dressing holder wrap applied to the torso of a patient.

The wound dressing holder wrap 10 includes a stretchable material 40 having an absorbent material adhered thereto that serves as a secondary wound dressing 20. The secondary wound dressing is attached to the material 40 via adhesive strips 50 and 60.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, two absorbent pads 20a and 20b constitute the secondary wound dressing. Alternatively, a single pad, or other type of appropriate dressing, can be used.

The wound dressing holder wrap also includes a hook fastener 70 attached to stretchable materials 40 via stitching 80. To facilitate attachment of the holder wrap to a body part (for example, the torso of an individual as shown in Figure 1). the material 40 is stretchable in at least a lengthwise direction as shown by arrow A in Figure 3. The stretchability of the material 40 enables the holder 10 to securely hold the wound dressing 20 in place on the patient's body. The holder 10 can also be used to hold a primary wound dressing underneath the secondary dressing 20, or the holder can hold a primary wound dressing in place without using the secondary dressing 20, or the dressing 20, if sterilized, can be used as the primary wound dressing.

The entire surface of the material 40 serves as the loop material to which hook fastener 70 can be attached. Hook fastener 70 can be attached anywhere along the outer surface of material 40, enabling the wound dressing holder wrap to be secured in many different orientations, and on different sized patients, and attached to different areas on a patient's body.

The fastener 70 is shown as being sewn to material 40, however, it can also be fused, or attached by any other appropriate means to the stretchable material 40. Further, the fastener 70 is of a length less than the width of the wound dressing holder wrap 10, to reduce the likelihood that the fastener hooks contact the patient's skin. The stretchable material 40 can be, for example, Kimberly Clark SB stretch material, however, other

appropriate stretchable materials can be used, that include means for attaching one end of the material anywhere along the outer surface of the material.

The pads 20a and 20b used as the secondary wound dressing 20, include absorbent material 30 therein to absorb secretion from the primary wound dressing. The absorbent material 30 also provides padding in the sensitive wound area. Absorbent pads 20a and 20a are removably attached to the stretchable material 40 via adhesive strips 50 and 60. This facilitates replacement of the pads when redressing a wound area.

Combined use of easily attachable stretchable material 40, hook fastener 70 attachable anywhere along the surface of material 40, and the removable padding 20, makes changing or adjusting a primary or secondary wound dressing simple and quick.

The wound dressing holder can also be used without padding 20 to hold a primary wound dressing in place.

The holder wrap 10 is also easily manufactured. The wound dressing holder is manufactured from a single rectangular piece of stretchable material 40. The stretchable material can be cut in any number of sizes and shapes according to the part of the body the holder is to be attached. The fastener 70 can be attached before or after the stretchable material is cut to a desired size. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 1, the holder wrap is large enough to hold a dressing on the torso of a patient, although the invention is not limited to a particular size wound dressing holder wrap and other smaller or larger sizes may be used.

Having thus described certain embodiments of the present invention, various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and not intended to be limiting.

What is claimed is: