BREAST PROSTHESIS

Abstract

The invention relates to a breast prosthesis having an elastically deformable outer body whose outer surface is patterned on the shape of the breast and having a plastically deformable inner body whose inner surface can adapt to irregularities of the tissue. In accordance with the invention, the inner surface of the inner body has a three-dimensional structure and/or is provided with a textile that is designed such that a ventilation of the tissue surface can be achieved.

Claims

1. A breast prosthesis for use with a breast having a shape, the breast prosthesis comprising 1. an elastically deformable outer body, the outer body having an outer surface, the outer surface being patterned on the shape of the breast and 2. a plastically deformable inner body having an inner surface adaptable to irregularities of underlying tissue, wherein the inner surface of the inner body has a three-dimensional structure and/or is provided with a textile that is designed such that a ventilation of the tissue surface can be achieved.

2. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the outer body is of shell shape.

3. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the inner body has an inner chamber containing a plastically deformable compound.

4. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional structure is molded to the inner surface of the inner body or is worked into it.

5. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional structure is adhesively bonded or welded to the inner surface of the inner body.

6. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional structure is a structure composed of plastic.

7. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises channels, webs and/or nubs as structural elements.

8. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the textile is adhesively bonded or welded to the inner surface of the inner body.

9. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein one the textile is a three-dimensional textile having a thickness of greater than 2 mm.

10. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the textile comprises natural fibers or plastic fibers.

11. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 1, wherein the outer body has an outer chamber containing a rubber-elastic compound.

12. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 11, wherein the outer chamber is formed by a film bag.

13. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 11, wherein the rubber-elastic compound is a two-component silicone rubber compound.

14. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 3, wherein the inner chamber is formed by a film bag.

15. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 8, wherein the textile is attached to the inner surface of the inner body using a holding means.

16. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 8, wherein the textile is attached to the inner surface of the inner body by a hook and loop surface adhesively bonded or welded to the inner surface of the inner body.

17. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 8, wherein the textile is attached to the inner surface of the inner body.

18. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 9, wherein the textile has a thickness of greater than 5 mm.

19. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 9, wherein the textile is a two-surface textile which is a spacer fabric that is optionally knitted and optionally has a surface structure comprising ribs or nubs.

20. A breast prosthesis in accordance with claim 19, wherein the textile is a multi-surface textile.

Description

[0026] Further details and advantages result from the embodiments discussed in the following with reference to the Figures. There are shown in the Figures:

[0027] FIG. 1: a perspective view of a breast prosthesis in accordance with the invention;

[0028] FIG. 2: a plan view of the inner surface of the breast prosthesis shown in

[0029] FIG. 1; and

[0030] FIG. 3: a plan view of the inner surface of a further embodiment of a breast prosthesis in accordance with the invention.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a breast prosthesis in accordance with the invention. The outer side of the breast prosthesis is formed by a shell-shaped outer body 1 that is elastically deformable. A likewise shell-shaped inner body 2 is attached to the inner side of this shell-shaped outer body 1.

[0032] The outer body 1 comprises two plastic films that are welded along the peripheral margin and that form a chamber in which a rubber-elastic two-component silicone rubber compound is located.

[0033] The inner body 2 is formed by welding a further film to the inner side of the outer body 1 and by filling the interposed chamber with a filler material. The filler material is a plastically deformable compound having thixotropic material properties which can be a low-cured silicone gel of two different silicone components that further contains phase change material, expanded lightweight fillers, thickening agents, aerosols, and thixotropic agents.

[0034] A structured plastic inlay 3 is adhesively bonded to the inner film of the plastically deformable body 2. The adhesive surface of the inlay 3 is smooth to ensure good adhesion to the body 2.

[0035] The surface of the inlay 3 facing the body has a three-dimensional structure whose design can be seen from FIG. 2. The structure comprises a regular arrangement of nubs 4 and ventilation channels or folding channels 5. The nubs 4 are arranged in a plurality of rows extending in parallel, with the nubs being offset by half a nub spacing in adjacent rows. All the nubs 5 are of identical design and have a design rounded in hill shape and having an oval base surface. The channels 5 extend in zigzag shape between the individual nub rows.

[0036] A further embodiment of a breast prosthesis in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 3 whose three-dimensional surface structure differs from that of the embodiment in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0037] In the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 3, the nubs 5 are sectionally arranged in curved rows and sectionally evenly distributed. They have a design rounded in hill shape and having a circular base surface. The size of the nubs 5 decreases from the center of the support surface toward the margin of the support surface. Slits 4 of a defined length are worked into the inlay 3 between the nubs 5 and serve the ventilation of the tissue and the better deformability of the inlay 3. Flow paths of the air through the structure are indicated by arrows in FIG. 3.

[0038] An adaptation to the irregular scar tissue can take place by the provision of both a plastically deformable layer 2 and a three-dimensionally shaped ventilation layer 3 without the air supply to the tissue being interrupted.