Scissors for surgical and other uses
United States Patent [1 1 Andrews SCISSORS FOR SURGICAL AND OTHER USES [76] Inventor: Bertrand J. Andrews, 106 Shannon St., Middlebury, Vt. 05753 [22] Filed: Dec. 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 425,776  
 [52] 0.5. CI. 30/231; 128/318; 30/233 [51] Int. Cl B26b 13/00 [58] Field of Search 30/134, 233, 257, 290, 30/254, 231; 128/318 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4,723 8/1846 Jaques 30/257 703,253 6/1902 Hamilton 30/231 Apr. 15, 1975 2,234,472 3/1941 Freel 128/318 2,852,846 9/1958 Ahlbin 30/341 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 219,377 7/1909 Germany 30/233 Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-J. C. Peters [57] ABSTRACT A scissors for surgical and other uses which comprises a smooth tapered flange integral with the lower blade of the scissors to prevent unintentional contact by the blade with the area being treated and which is constructed such that the rear portion of the cutting edges are never exposed. The scissors may be conveniently operated with one hand.  
 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SCISSORS FOR SURGICAL AND OTHER USES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a scissors which is designed primarily for obstetric use in performing episiotomies, but which is also applicable for general surgical uses as well as nonsurgical uses such as dressmaking.  
 2. Description of the Prior Art The prior art discloses scissors of various designs which may be utilized in performing episiotomies. However, prior art scissors have certain objectionable features such as a lack of adequate protection against injury, poor cutting accuracy and limited use of the scissors to single specific applications. For example, Freel Pat. No. 2,234,472 discloses a surgical scissors which has a lower blade that extends rearwardly to an extent that the cutting edge is unnecessarily exposed, especially when it is realized that this portion of the blade is not necessary to the proper functioning of the scissors. The protective flange in Freel has a lower concave surface which restricts the scissors usefulness and the upper portion of the flange consists of a surface which extends outwardly and downwardly from the top edge of the lower blade toward one side of the flange. This adds unnecessary weight to the scissors and, more importantly may crush tissues and introduce inaccuracies into the cutting effort. In an opened position, the cutting surface of the Freel scissors do not overlap and a gap exists between the upper and lower blade which may cause pinching but will not cut. Rosenfeld US. Pat. No. 2,134,265 and Halpern US. Pat. No. 1,600,225 disclose other prior art scissors and exhibit similar limitations which render them unsuitable for safely performing episiotomies and also restrict their usefulness.  
  A doctor usually requires two hands to perform an episiotomy; one hand for the scissors and the other hand to protect the infants head and the surrounding area. When a birth is attended without assistance this requires the doctor to momentarily abandon his grip on the forceps to perform the episiotomy which might cause accidental injury to the infant.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the invention to provide a lightweight scissors which may be confidently used with one hand to perform episiotomies, but which is capable of universal application, which avoids the risk of unintentional injury to the area being treated and which accurately performs without crushing the surrounding skin or other material being treated.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG, 1 is a front elevation view of the surgical scissors.  
 FIG. 2 is a plan view of the scissors.  
  FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along section line 33 of FIG. 1.  
  FIG. 4 is a side view of the scissors in an open position.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the scissors is denoted generally by the numeral 10. The scissors comprises an upper blade 12 and a lower blade 14, the lower blade having a flanged base 16. The blades are connected to handles 18 and 20, each blade and handle forming an obtuse angle therebetween to provide for good visability of the surface being treated and a comfortable cutting angle. The two handled blades are pivotally connected at 22 in the usual manner. Lower handle 20 includes finger hole 24 and half ring 41 and upper handle 18 has a single finger hole 26 in order to provide for precise control of the scissors.  
  The structure of the flange is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The flange comprises two substantially parallel longitudinal sides 34, a bullet shaped front end 28, and a heel 30 which is slightly rounded. The edges of the flange are rounded and smooth to prevent injury therefrom.  
  The slightly rounded rear section provides for a more even tension on the substance being cut as well as additional protection against injury from the rear portion of the blades. The lower blade 14 is centrally positioned on the flange, which extends beyond the front edge of the blade in the form of a smooth tapered portion 32 to avoid any knife-like action when the scissors is placed beneath the perineum. The heel of the flange 30 is tapered into the shank of the handles such that the rear portion of the blades are protected from exposure, and inadvertent injury from contact with an exposed portion of a blade is thus prevented.  
  As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, the flange has a substantially planar lower surface 35 and the upper surface is tapered outwardly from the center. where the lower blade is situated, toward the peripheral portions 34. The use of a planar surface allows for universal applicability of the scissors.  
  FIG. 4 depicts the scissors in an &#34;open&#34; position and clearly indicates the protection afforded by the invention against either pinching, which is caused by gaps between the cutting surfaces, and against injury from an exposed back portion of the blade. Top blade 12 has a rounded front end 36 and the height of lower blade 14 gradually decreases between heel 30 and front end 28. The rotation of upper blade 12 is limited by flange 16 and the juxtaposition of the lower blade, upper blade and flange are such that the rearmost portion of the upper cutting blade 40 cannot be raised to a position above that of the lower cutting blade and consequently only cutting surfaces are presented to the area under treatment. Moreover, in a closed position, the heel 30 of the flange covers portion 40 of the upper blade and prevents exposure of the back portion of the upper and lower blades to avoid injury from this back portion which may particularly occur while manipulating the scissors with one hand.  
 I claim:  
 1. A scissors comprising:  
 an upper blade having a handle at one end and a cutting edge at the other end, said upper and lower blades being pivotally connected at a pivot point such that the cutting edges of said blades intersect for cutting purposes when the scissors is operated, and  
 flange means having rounded edges and a substantially planar lower surface integral with the base of the lower blade, the cutting edges of said lower blade extending upwardly from a substantially central portion of said flange means and at a predetermined distance from the forward edge and wherein the flange means extends only a short distance beyond the rear portions of the upper and lower blades to limit exposure of the cutting edges and wherein said upper blade is of a straight configuration which rests on the flange means adjacent the lower blade when the scissors is in a closed position.  
 2. The scissors of claim 1 wherein:  
 the height of the cutting edge of the lower blade is greatest at the heel of the blade and varies decreasingly toward the front edge of the blade.  
 3. The scissors of claim 2 wherein:  
 each of the upper and lower blades comprise a blade portion and a handle defining an obtuse angle therebetween and wherein the handle of the lower blade defines one finger hole and the handle of the upper blade defines one finger hole and an adjacent half-ring for gripping purposes.  
 4. The scissors of claim 2 wherein:  
 the flange means is bullet-shaped toward the front tip thereof, to facilitate insertion of the scissors.  
 5. The scissors of claim 2 wherein:  
 the flange means comprises a tapered front portion extending beyond the lower blade, an upwardly rounded heel portion which merges with the lower blade handle and having a cross section which tapers outwardly from the center toward the edges of the flange.  
 6. The scissors of claim 2 wherein:  
 the flange means comprises a tapered front portion extending beyond the lower blade, substantially parallel side portions and a substantially squaredoff rear portion having rounded corners at the intersection with the side portions, said rear portion being located at a point only a short distance beyond the rear surface of the lower blade.