A tissue expander for plastic surgery after tumor resection

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of tumor plastic surgery, and in particular to a tissue expander for plastic surgery after tumor resection, comprising an inflatable sac body with an accommodating cavity capable of loading a fluid defined therein; a water conduit, the water conduit having a certain degree of flexibility, one end of which is connected to the interior of the inflatable sac body, and the other end of which is connected to an injection pot capable of cooperating with a syringe to inject the fluid into the inflatable sac body; and an anti-folding gasket, the anti-folding gasket being installed in the inflatable sac body, and the anti-folding gasket having two states, a non-triggered state and a triggered state, the anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state being a relatively hard solid state and being used for circumferentially supporting the inner wall of the inflatable sac body to keep the inflatable sac body from forming a relatively hard edge, and the shape of the edge being the same as the shape of the inflatable sac body laid flat in the cavity, thereby preventing the inflatable sac body from folding when implanted into a human body. By providing the anti-folding gasket, the inflatable sac body can be prevented from folding during the implantation into a human body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of tumor plastic surgery, in particular to a tissue expander for plastic surgery after tumor resection. Background Art

[0002] Tumor plastic surgery is a treatment method that repairs and improves the appearance and functional problems left after tumor resection. Common surface tumors will affect the appearance of the human body after surgical resection, such as the loss of breasts, which is often unacceptable to women. Plastic surgery after tumor resection can often restore the patient's original appearance.

[0003] For example, after a common total mastectomy for breast cancer, a woman's breast is missing. Most women usually choose breast reconstruction by implanting a prosthesis under the chest skin to achieve breast reconstruction and restore the beauty of the body. When performing breast reconstruction, the first step is to insert a tissue expander under the chest skin soft tissue to assist the chest skin to gradually expand. The tissue expander consists of an inflatable capsule, a water conduit and an injection pot. When the tissue expander is just inserted into the human body, it is in a collapsed and flat state (not filled with fluid). When the wound sutured by the chest skin recovers, the fluid (normal saline) is filled into the tissue expander through the injection pot to expand the tissue expander capsule buried under the chest skin, keeping the chest skin in a taut state, so that the chest skin can gradually expand. With the extension of time and multiple injections of fluid, the area of ​​the chest skin is sufficient to cover the prosthesis. At this time, the chest skin is re-cut to remove the tissue expander. After the chest prosthesis is inserted, the incised wound can be re-sutured.

[0004] The problem with the existing technology is that when the existing tissue expander is implanted in the human body, it is necessary to ensure that the inflatable capsule is laid flat in the cavity (formed by layering and peeling the skin soft tissue and the tissue to which it is adhered). If the inflatable capsule cannot be laid flat in the cavity, that is, the capsule is angled or folded after placement, it is easy to cause uneven force on the skin soft tissue after the capsule expands at a later time, thereby causing expansion failure. The existing inflatable capsule is generally made of soft inflatable material, and due to the narrow cavity, there is often a blind spot for observation, which cannot fully ensure that the inflatable capsule is in a flat state after being implanted in the cavity, and will not affect the expansion of the inflatable capsule according to the expected expansion effect. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a tissue expander for postoperative plastic surgery after tumor resection. By adding an anti-folding gasket, the inflatable capsule can be placed in a cavity under human skin soft tissue and be in a flat and unfolded state. At the same time, the anti-folding gasket can ensure that the inflatable capsule is expanded according to the expected effect.

[0006] The technical problem solved by the present invention is achieved by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0007] A tissue expander for postoperative plastic surgery after tumor resection, comprising an inflatable sac, wherein the inflatable sac defines an accommodating cavity that can be loaded with fluid; a water conduit, wherein the water conduit has a certain degree of flexibility, one end of which is connected to the interior of the inflatable sac, and the other end is connected to an injection pot that can cooperate with a syringe to inject fluid into the inflatable sac; and an anti-folding gasket, wherein the anti-folding gasket is installed in the inflatable sac, and the anti-folding gasket has two states, a non-triggered state and a triggered state. The anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state is a relatively hard solid state and is used to circumferentially support the inner wall of the inflatable sac to keep the inflatable sac forming a relatively hard edge, and the shape of the edge is the same as the shape of the inflatable sac laid flat in the cavity, thereby preventing the inflatable sac from folding when implanted in a human body.

[0008] Preferably, the anti-folding gasket loses its circumferential support to the inner wall of the inflatable bladder when the anti-folding gasket is transformed from the non-triggered state to the triggered state, thereby ensuring that the inflatable bladder can be expanded according to the expected expansion effect.

[0009] Preferably, the anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state melts into the fluid after coming into contact with the fluid, thereby forming a triggered state.

[0010] Preferably, the anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state changes from a solid state to a liquid state when heated by body temperature, thereby forming a triggered state.

[0011] Preferably, the anti-folding gasket is in the shape of a plate when not triggered, which can provide circumferential support to the inner wall of the inflatable bladder.

[0012] Preferably, the plate-shaped anti-folding gasket has a hollow portion.

[0013] Preferably, the plate-shaped anti-folding gasket is hollowed out to form a ring shape capable of circumferentially supporting the inner wall of the inflatable bladder.

[0014] Preferably, the annular anti-folding gasket has a plurality of notches.

[0015] Preferably, the output end of the connection between the water conduit and the inflatable bladder does not contact the anti-folding gasket.

[0016] Preferably, the connection between the water conduit and the inflatable bladder is located in the plane where the anti-folding gasket is located.

[0017] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that by providing an anti-folding gasket, the inflatable bladder will not fold during implantation in the human body, and the anti-folding gasket can be converted into a trigger state, losing support for the inflatable bladder, thereby not affecting the inflatable bladder from expanding in the expected expansion state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0019] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the prior art of the present invention:

[0020] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the prior art of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the process of implanting the tissue expander of the present invention into a human body;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the prior art of the present invention in an inflated state;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the inflated state of the tissue expander of the present invention after being implanted into the human body;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the anti-folding pad of the present invention in a first shape;

[0025] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of the anti-folding pad of the present invention in the second shape;

[0026] Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of the anti-folding pad of the present invention in a third shape;

[0027] Fig. 9 This is a structural diagram of the anti-folding pad of the present invention in a fourth shape;

[0028] Fig.10 This is a structural diagram of the anti-folding pad of the present invention in the fifth shape.

[0029] In the figure, 1. inflatable bladder; 2. water guide tube; 3. injection pot; 4. plate-shaped anti-folding gasket; 5. notch; 6. ring body; 7. skeleton; 8. accommodating cavity; 9. hollow part; 10. skin soft tissue; 11. other tissues; 12. cavity; 13. placement port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects achieved by the present invention easy to understand, the present invention is further explained below with reference to specific diagrams.

[0031] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the inventive point of the present invention, the prior art involved in the present invention is first introduced, and reference is made to Figure 1-Figure 5 The structure of the existing tissue expander is introduced. The existing tissue expander includes an inflatable sac 1, a water conduit 2 and an injection pot 3. The inflatable sac 1 is a membrane structure that can be expanded by injecting water, air or other fluids into the accommodating cavity 8 inside it. The material is mainly silicone rubber. This material has good biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, and can meet the requirements of medical implants. Specifically, silicone rubber has sufficient tensile strength and tear strength, and can withstand the pressure during the expansion process while maintaining structural integrity. The water conduit 2 has a certain degree of flexibility and is generally made of medical silicone. One end of the water conduit 2 is connected to the inside of the inflatable sac 1, and the other end is connected to the injection pot 3. When the inside of the inflatable sac 1 is inflated, the needle of the syringe with fluid (generally physiological saline, and some air or other fluids) is inserted into the injection pot 3, and the injection pot 3 is injected with fluid. The fluid enters the inside of the inflatable sac 1 along the water conduit 2, so that the inside of the inflatable sac 1 expands to a certain size. Figure 4 The state, specifically when the tissue expander is implanted in the body, such as Figure 3 As shown, firstly, a placement opening 13 is cut in the skin of a human body, and then the skin soft tissue 10 is separated from other tissues 11 below the skin soft tissue 10 to form a cavity 12. The cavity 12 should be sufficient to accommodate the inflatable bladder 1 and ensure that the inflatable bladder 1 is spread out flat. After the expander of the skin soft tissue 10 is placed, the placement opening 13 is sutured. When the sutured placement opening 13 is restored, the inflatable bladder 1 can be injected with fluid through the syringe and the injection pot 3 to expand it to form a cavity 12 as shown in FIG. Figure 5In the state shown, after a long period of multiple intervals of fluid injection, the skin covering the inflatable bladder 1 will gradually expand. When the expanded area is sufficient, the tissue expander can be taken out. For example, in breast reconstruction surgery, when the skin tissue expands enough, the tissue expander is directly taken out and the breast prosthesis is placed in the cavity 12 to achieve breast reconstruction. It needs to be further explained that the water conduit 2 and the injection pot 3 of the tissue expander can be placed in the cavity 12 together with the inflatable bladder 1, or can be left outside the body. Leaving them outside the body has the effect of facilitating fluid injection, but it is easy to be contaminated. Placing them together with the inflatable bladder 1 in the cavity 12 is not easy to be contaminated, but it is easy to turn over the injection pot 3, and the injection of fluid requires professional personnel to operate. The above is the existing structure and use process of tissue expanders.

[0032] The existing tissue expander has the following defects. Since the inflatable bladder 1 of the existing tissue expander is made of soft material, it is difficult to place it in one go to ensure that the inflatable bladder 1 is spread out in the cavity 12 when it is placed in a collapsed state. Even if the inflatable bladder 1 in the cavity 12 is turned over by an auxiliary tool, it is easy to cause the surface of the inflatable bladder 1 to be damaged. In addition, due to the small placement opening 13 and the narrow and long cavity 12, it is easy to have an observation blind spot, resulting in the inflatable bladder 1 being folded after being placed in the human body. If the inflatable bladder 1 is folded, it will cause uneven force on the skin when the inflatable bladder is expanded later, resulting in tissue expansion failure. Based on the above problems, the present invention overcomes them through the following improvements.

[0033] The present invention provides a tissue expander for plastic surgery after tumor resection. On the basis of the prior art, an anti-folding gasket is placed inside an inflatable sac 1. The anti-folding gasket has considerable hardness and circumferentially supports the inner wall of the inflatable sac 1, so that the inflatable sac 1 forms a relatively hard edge, and the shape of the formed edge is the same as the shape of the inflatable sac 1 laid flat in a cavity 12, thereby avoiding the inflatable sac 1 from folding when it is inserted into the cavity 12. At the same time, since the inflatable sac 1 needs to be filled with fluid at a later stage to make it expand in a desired state, if the anti-folding gasket is always in a relatively hard state and placed inside the inflatable sac 1, it may also cause the inflatable sac 1 to fold. The inflatable bladder 1 cannot be inflated according to the expected expansion state, so the above-mentioned anti-folding gasket should have two states, a non-triggered state and a triggered state. In the non-triggered state, it is the solid state that can provide circumferential support to the inflatable bladder 1 and keep the inflatable bladder 1 in a relatively hard edge state, so that the inflatable bladder 1 can be flattened inside the cavity 12. In the triggered state, the anti-folding gasket should lose the circumferential support for the inner wall of the inflatable bladder 1, so as to ensure that the inflatable bladder 1 can be inflated according to the expected state. It should be noted that although the inflatable bladder 1 in the accompanying drawings is illustrated in a shape close to a spherical shape after expansion, it can also be other shapes.

[0034] Specifically, the anti-folding gasket is transformed from a non-triggered state to a triggered state, and the anti-folding gasket gradually changes to a triggered state when in contact with a fluid. For example, the anti-folding gasket is made of a water-soluble material or a material that is easily loosened when in contact with water. When physiological saline is injected as a fluid, it melts in the water, thereby losing support for the inner wall of the inflatable bladder 1, ensuring that the inflatable bladder 1 can be expanded according to the expected expansion state. For example, the anti-folding gasket is made of harder soluble fructose or salt blocks and has a certain hardness. Of course, it can also be a paper shell, which becomes loose when in contact with water, thereby losing the support effect on the inner wall of the inflatable bladder 1.

[0035] Furthermore, the anti-folding gasket can be transformed from a non-triggered state to a triggered state by temperature control. For example, when the anti-folding gasket is not inserted into the human body, it is in a relatively hard solid state, and becomes liquid when heated after being inserted into the human body. For example, the common metal gallium material is a solid metal at room temperature, and becomes liquid when heated, and can melt at normal body temperature. When metal gallium is used as an anti-folding gasket, since metal gallium reacts with water, air is preferably used as the fluid to be injected into the interior of the inflatable bladder 1, or other fluids that do not react with metal gallium.

[0036] Further, such as Figure 6 As shown, the anti-folding gasket can be plate-shaped when not triggered, that is, the plate-shaped anti-folding gasket 4 supports the inner wall of the inflatable bladder 1, and the shape of the plate-shaped anti-folding gasket 4 is the same as the shape of the inflatable bladder 1 laid flat in the cavity 12.

[0037] Further, such as Fig. 9 and Fig.10 As shown, in order to enable the anti-folding gasket to quickly melt or loosen when encountering a small amount of fluid, the anti-folding gasket can add a hollow portion 9 on the basis of the plate shape, that is, a hollow anti-folding gasket, thereby reducing the material required for the anti-folding gasket, so that it can be converted into a trigger state when it comes into contact with a small amount of fluid. The hollow anti-folding gasket is formed by arranging a hollow portion 9 on the above-mentioned plate-like anti-folding gasket 4 to form an anti-folding gasket with a ring body 6 at the edge and a skeleton 7 in the center.

[0038] Further, such as Figure 8 As shown, in order to reduce the material of the anti-folding gasket as much as possible, as shown Figure 7 As shown, the plate-like anti-folding gasket 4 is preferably designed to be hollowed out in the middle to form an annular anti-folding gasket, which is composed of only one ring body 6, so as to ensure that less fluid can make the anti-folding gasket become a triggered state, that is, it can be completely dissolved in water, or become completely loose.

[0039] Furthermore, on the basis of the above-mentioned annular anti-folding gasket, a notch is provided on the anti-folding gasket, and the notch can facilitate the folding of the inflatable capsule 1, so that the space occupied by the inflatable capsule 1 during the packaging process is smaller. Figure 8 The four notches are provided so that the inflatable bladder 1 can be folded into a quarter of a circle for packaging. The provision of the notches also further reduces the material used for the anti-folding gasket.

[0040] Furthermore, the output end of the connection between the water conduit 2 and the inflatable bladder 1 does not contact the anti-folding gasket, for example Figure 7 After the middle water pipe 2 extends to the inside of the inflatable bladder 1, it passes through the anti-folding gasket, thereby preventing the output end of the water pipe 2 from being blocked by the anti-folding gasket, or Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The output end is in the gap of the anti-folding gasket, ensuring that the fluid in the water conduit 2 can smoothly enter the inflatable bladder 1, avoiding the initial fluid injection blockage at the output end of the water conduit 2.

[0041] Furthermore, the connection between the water pipe 2 and the inflatable bladder 1 is located in the plane where the anti-folding gasket is located, which can ensure that the inflatable bladder 1 is laid flat in the cavity 12. After the fluid is injected and expanded in the later stage, since the connection is located in the plane where the anti-folding gasket is located, the distance range of the water pipe 2 driven by the expansion of the inflatable bladder can be reduced, thereby reducing the probability of the injection pot 3 turning over when the water pipe 2 and the injection pot 3 are placed in the cavity 12 (in Figure 1The side facing upward in the injection pot 3 can be used to inject fluid by inserting a syringe with a needle. The needle passes through the skin soft tissue and pierces the upper side of the injection pot 3 to reach the inside of the injection pot to inject fluid. The side facing downward cannot cooperate with the syringe with a needle. Therefore, when the injection pot is implanted in the human body, the side facing upward is attached to the skin soft tissue 10. If the injection pot 3 is turned over, the side facing downward is attached to the skin soft tissue 10, which affects the normal injection of the fluid).

[0042] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the above embodiments and descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention may have various changes and improvements, and these changes and improvements fall within the scope of the present invention to be protected. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A tissue expander for postoperative plastic surgery after tumor resection, comprising: An inflatable bladder (1), wherein the inflatable bladder (1) defines a receiving chamber (8) that can be loaded with a fluid; A water conduit (2), the water conduit (2) having a certain degree of flexibility, one end of which is connected to the interior of the inflatable bladder (1), and the other end of which is connected to an injection pot (3) that can cooperate with a syringe to inject fluid into the inflatable bladder (1); It is characterized in that Also includes; An anti-folding gasket is installed inside an inflatable bladder (1), and the anti-folding gasket has two states: untriggered and triggered. The anti-folding gasket in the untriggered state is a relatively hard solid state and is used to provide circumferential support to the inner wall of the inflatable bladder (1) to keep the inflatable bladder (1) from forming a relatively hard edge, and the shape of the edge is the same as the shape of the inflatable bladder (1) laid flat in the cavity (12), thereby preventing the inflatable bladder (1) from folding when implanted in a human body.

2. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the anti-folding gasket is transformed from a non-triggered state to a triggered state, it loses the circumferential support for the inner wall of the inflatable bladder (1), thereby ensuring that the inflatable bladder (1) can be expanded according to the expected expansion effect.

3. The tissue expander for postoperative plastic surgery after tumor resection according to claim 2, characterized in that: The anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state melts into the fluid after contacting the fluid, thereby forming a triggered state.

4. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 2, characterized in that: The anti-folding gasket in the non-triggered state changes from a solid state to a liquid state when heated by body temperature, thereby forming a triggered state.

5. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 1, characterized in that: When in an untriggered state, the anti-folding gasket is in the shape of a plate capable of circumferentially supporting the inner wall of the inflatable bladder (1).

6. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 5, characterized in that: The plate-shaped anti-folding gasket is provided with a hollow portion (9).

7. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 6, characterized in that: The plate-shaped anti-folding gasket is hollowed out to form a ring shape capable of circumferentially supporting the inner wall of the inflatable bladder (1).

8. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 7, characterized in that: The annular anti-folding gasket has a plurality of notches.

9. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output end of the connection between the water conduit (2) and the inflatable bladder (1) does not contact the anti-folding gasket.

10. The tissue expander for post-tumor resection plastic surgery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connection between the water conduit (2) and the inflatable bladder (1) is located in the plane where the anti-folding gasket is located.

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