The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 02, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 18, 1996
John E Burbank, Ridgefield, CT (US);
Charles L Putnam, Bellemeade, NJ (US);
Bernard Hirshowitz, Haifa, IL;
MedChem Products, Inc., Princeton, NJ (US);
Abstract
One or more devices for stretching skin to close a wide skin defect may be used with two long interdermal needles which are inserted underneath the skin along margins of the wound. The skin stretching device may include a pair of needle shafts each having a hook or needle at a distal end for engaging one of the interdermal needles, and a contracting mechanism provided for drawing the opposing needle hooks toward one another, thereby approximating the opposing margins of the wound. The skin stretching device may also include a control knob for limiting the amount of force applied by the device, and a tension indicator for indicating the amount of force applied by the device. Each elongated shafts may also exhibit a retaining member about which a swivel platform rotates, and to which two or more needles are attached. The skin stretching device may further include elongated shafts which, at their distal ends, angle away from the body of the shafts, each exhibiting a single needle. Finally, the skin stretching device may include curved shafts which exhibit one or more needles at their distal ends.