the preferred embodiment of the holding member , generally indicated at 40 in fig4 is sized to be received within the abdominal cavity c of a patient p defined by an anterior wall w 1 , a posterior wall w 2 , lateral wall w 3 and lateral wall w 4 , as generally shown in fig2 and 4 . the holding member 40 is preferably constructed of two identical sheets of a coated plastic foam sheeting completely sandwiching a foam core , as will be described below in detail . with reference again to fig4 the plastic foam holding member 40 is generally bean - shaped in top view having an overall curved configuration including an indentation 14 . a preferred medium sized holding member 40 would include the center height from the top 50 of the indentation 14 to the top of the foam holding member 40 of approximately 10 centimeters . the overall length of the holding member 40 along a line tangent to the apex of indentation 14 is approximately 26 . 0 centimeters . the overall height of the holding member 40 is approximately 16 . 0 centimeters with a total uniform thickness of approximately 2 . 7 centimeters . this 16 . 0 centimeter overall height and 10 . 0 centimeter actual holding member height provides a 6 . 0 centimeter clearance from the top of indentation 14 to the bottom of the holding member about the patient &# 39 ; s aorta and vena cava . the width of each side sheet 41a and 41b overlying and underlying the core 42 ( shown in phantom in fig4 ) is 4 . 5 centimeters . the core 42 is preferably cut from a cellular silicone foam available from rogers corporation of woodstock , conn . under the trademark &# 34 ; poron &# 34 ; s2000 silicone though could be fabricated from other comparable medical grade polymers or materials . other possible materials that could be used for the holding member could include those disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 938 , 519 ; 3 , 863 , 639 ; 4 , 637 , 377 ; 4 , 777 , 943 ; 4 , 889 , 107 and 4 , 981 , 465 , which are incorporated by references herein for all purposes . returning to fig5 the foam side sheets 41a and 41b are preferably molded from a fairly stiff elastomer , such as a liquid that is injection molded and heat and pressure vulcanized to provide a gum - type material with a memory . such liquid has been previously supplied as no . 7 - 6860 by dow corning of midland , mich . or is now available as part no . ps1771 by applied silicone corporation of ventura , calif . the preferred holding member 40 has an upper or front surface 41a , and a lower or rear surface 41b . the preferred holding member includes a core 42 , as best shown in fig5 and 6 , preferably made of a vulcanized silicone elastomer previously available from dow corning and now available from applied silicone corporation , as described above . this core is centrally embedded in a cellular silicone foam such as the &# 34 ; poron &# 34 ; s2000 silicone by rogers corporation of woodstock , conn . the &# 34 ; poron &# 34 ; s2000 silicone is a closed cell foam that is nonabsorbent to blood and other body fluids . the foam is cut and provided in two sections 41a , 41b , such as shown in fig4 and 6 . the vulcanized silicone elastomer core 42 is centrally attached to the side foam sections with use of an adhesive , such as the nusil 1137 adhesive . preferably , at least 3 centimeters of cellular silicone foam are provided at all points between the peripheral edge of the holding member 40 and the core 42 . the other section of the foam siding is then positioned and affixed to the other side of the core by the use of adhesive , to provide an integral one piece holding member . the holding member should then be allowed to cure for 24 hours , trimmed of excess adhesive and cleaned with isopropyl alcohol . in the preferred embodiment , once the two sections of the foam 41a and 41b are joined by the adhesive with the core 42 therebetween , the holding member 40 may then be completely dip coated , as described above , with a nonabsorbent coating . preferably , the coating is part no . 40 , 000 a medical grade dimethyl silicone elastomer by applied silicone corporation of ventura , calif . while the holding member would be nonabsorbent without the coating because of the use of a closed cell foam , the coating is preferred to insure the nonabsorbency and to provide the preferred slippery surface of the holding member 40 . while the front surface 41a and the rear surface 41b of the foam cut from the sheet will have a smooth surface , the peripheral edge will have a rougher surface because of the foam cells . upon coating , the front surface 41a and the rear surface 41b will become more slippery and the edge will still have a sufficiently rough surface to provide good engagement with the abdominal cavity walls . a preferred medium size holding member 40 would include a center height from the top of the indentation 14 to the top of the holding member 40 ( at 50 ) of approximately 10 . 0 centimeters . the overall length of the holding member 40 at the tangential intersection at 48 is approximately 26 . 0 centimeters . the overall height of the holding member 40 is approximately 16 . 0 centimeters with a thickness of approximately 2 . 7 centimeters . this 16 . 0 centimeter overall height and 10 . 0 centimeter actual holding to member height provides 6 . 0 centimeters between the indentation to the bottom of the holding member about the patient &# 39 ; s aorta and vena cava . while holding member 40 , as shown in fig4 - 8 , has the same general beanshaped configuration , the holding member 40 has squared off peripheral edge 46 . holding member 40 may have a radiused or curved peripheral edge 46 . however , it is to be understood that the holding member 40 could be fabricated with a radiused , curved , combination radiused and flat peripheral edge or other geometric combination edge . turning now to fig1 - 3 and 7 , the procedure for use of the holding member is shown . during open pelvic surgery , a number of different presized holding members in individual sterile packages will preferably be available to the surgeon . for example , aged patients and smaller patients would use a different sized holding member than that described above for a medium sized patient . however , the overall configurations of these different size holding members can be predetermined by averaging a number of computerized axial tomography ( cat ) scan cross sections on the abdominal cavity . as best shown in fig2 and 3 , an incision is used to open the pelvic area of the patient p . a lower midline incision , lower transverse incision or any other medically acceptable opening may be used . after retracting the lateral abdominal walls w 3 and w 4 with blades r 2 and r 3 , respectively , using a conventional 4 - way retractor , such as the &# 34 ; bookwalter &# 34 ; retractor r , as shown in fig1 - 3 and 7 , the urinary bladder b is retracted with a suitably sized lower retractor blade r 1 . the vertical distance between the sacral spine s and the umbilicus u or anterior wall w 1 adjacent the umbilicus u is then measured . this measurement is used to select the proper size holding member . prior to insertion of the holding member , the patient p is placed momentarily into an extreme &# 34 ; trendelenburg &# 34 ; position allowing the intestines i and omentum o along with the colon j to recede into the upper abdomen as much as possible . fig1 illustrates the basic &# 34 ; trendelenburg &# 34 ; position , though the angle θ could be larger as desired by the surgeon . the holding member is then moved through the incision into the abdominal cavity c . if desired , using the concave portion of the holding member 40 as a scoop or ii the front surface 41a of the holding member 40 , the intestines i are moved further upwards in the upper abdomen until the member is positioned at or preferably 2 centimeters below the umbilicus u . the rear surface 41b of the holding member 40 , as best shown in fig2 is concave to centrally locate the intestines . as best shown in fig7 the front surface of the holding member could include a plurality of holes to allow air to vent to and from the holding member , if desired . even though the holding member is vented , it would still be nonabsorbent if a nonabsorbent material is used for the holding member , such as a closed cell foam . the holding member 40 will preferably have a cross section of an additional 2 centimeters of foam in all directions than the actual average relaxed abdominal cavity measurements , except , of course , at the indentation 14 . this additional material will allow for compression and variations of cavity contours and sizes . the anterior and lateral abdominal walls of an average patient can withstand considerable pressure from the inside or tension loading during surgery . however , as best shown in fig7 the patient &# 39 ; s aorta a and vena cava v above the spine s in the center of the posterior wall w 2 should be protected from more than about 15 millimeters mercury pressure . since the core 42 of the holding member 40 is constructed of a more rigid elastomer , such as the vulcanized silicone elastomer described above , the holding member will transmit pressure to all the abdominal walls w . this core however should not come into contact with the aorta a and vena cava v . of course , the density of the foam increases as the foam is compressed to the core . in the holding member 40 as the foam is compressed , a denser foam is adjacent the exposed core to protect the aorta a and vena cava v . after the holding member has been inserted , which should only take 1 or 2 minutes , the patient p is repositioned to a more supine or horizontal position to reduce pressure on the patient &# 39 ; s diaphragm . as a precaution , it is recommended that the patient &# 39 ; s pulse be checked in the common iliac arteries after insertion of the holding member and one finger inserted between the patient &# 39 ; s aorta and vena cava and the holding member to be sure that pressure on the vena cava is not enough to obstruct flow . as a backup , if there is a reduction in venus return , the anesthetist would observe significant tachycardia . in the alternative , the holding members as shown in the figures . can be sized so that minimal or no pressure is exerted on the abdominal walls with the holding member acting merely as a blocking member used in combination with the abdominal cavity walls to keep the intestines out of the operative field . the fourth or upper blade r 4 of the retractor r is then moved into the incision and positioned adjacent the core of the respective holding member to hold the intestines i and omentum o in the upper abdomen clear of the operative field on the uterus t and / or ovary q . after completing the intra - abdominal phase of the surgery , the holding member is removed along with the 4 - way retractor and the incision is closed in the usual manner . the foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof , and various changes in the size , shape and materials , as well in the details of the illustrated construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention .
a nonabsorbent holding member adapted for use within an abdominal cavity of a patient defined by an anterior wall , a posterior wall and two lateral walls to keep the patient &# 39 ; s bowels out of the operative field during open pelvic surgery . the holding member is a substantially u - shaped planar member having a peripheral edge formed of a resiliently deformable material sized to be received within the abdominal cavity . the resilient deformation of at least a portion of the peripheral edge of the holding member results in a residual reactive force against the abdominal cavity to assist in positioning the holding member in the abdominal cavity . the peripheral edge includes a continuous groove lying in the plane of the holding member which circumscribes the elastically deformable peripheral edge to facilitate secure positioning of the holding member within the abdominal cavity .