Hydrophilic medical sponge and method of using same

Claim 2

The sponge of claim 2, wherein the quantity of surfactant is about 5 percent to about 10 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the foam, and said sponge is sterile at time of use.

Claim 3

The sponge of claim 3, wherein said surfactant contains a hygroscopic agent uniformly dispersed throughout.

Claim 4

A medical sponge package comprising a sterile enclosure containing therein the sponge of claim 2 in sterile condition.

Claim 5

A medical sponge package comprising an internally sterile strippable outer envelope containing at least one sponge, as defined in claim 2, in sterile conditions, in a sterile inner envelope, whereby on stripping the outer envelope, the separate sterilely wrapped sponges are sterilely released.

Claim 6

A hydrophilic sponge, adapted for medical usage, comprising a flexible polyurethane foam: a. the surfaces of said foam being nonabrasive towards internal body organs; b. said foam containing at least one zone of intercommunicating pores extending inwardly from a surface of the foam; c. said pores are of sufficiently small dimension to insure retention of body fluids therein substantially by capillarity; d. the surface of said pore zone is substantially free from obstructions which inhibit flow of fluids into the pores; e. substantially all of the internal surfaces of said pores having a coating of at least one surfactant; f. said surfactant being substantially nonfoaming when the sponge is moistened; g. said surfactant being nontoxic to living tissue; h. said surfactant being a nonflowing liquid at room temperature; i. the thickness of said surfactant coating being insufficient to cause a substantial reduction in pore volume, but sufficient to initiate, without compression of said sponge, flow of body fluids in contact with said sponge into the pore volume at a medically preferred rate, said pores functioning as a reservoir for said fluids; j. the quantity of surfactant is about 5 percent to about 10 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the foam; k. said surfactant contains a hygroscopic agent uniformly dispersed throughout; and l. the surfactant is polyoxyethylene sorbitan mono-oleate and the hygroscopic agent is glycerine and wherein said sponge comprises, in its entirety, a single zone of intercommunicating pores, said foam being polyurethane of the polyester type, being about 100 percent reticulated, and having about 100 pores per inch, whereby substantial amounts of fluid, based on the dry weight of the sponge, are removable from their environment upon contact of said fluid with said pore zone and subsequent removal of the sponge from said environment.

Claim 7

The sponge of claim 7, having an X-ray opaque therein, and being sterile at time of use.