HeelAHip® FEATURES:
Abduction with Heel suspension
The traditional abduction wedge originated many years ago. The original design required that nurses pull too tightly on the straps in order to lift the leg and suspend the heel in an attempt to relieve pain or early pressure injury. Eventually, nurses came up with some pretty creative ways of offloading the heels by using techniques such as folded linens, rolled towels, IV bags, and foam. These techniques were effective but inconsistent and not standardized.
HeelAHip® was developed using the NPUAP (National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel) guidelines for offloading heels. With HeelAHip®, the weight of the leg is shifted to the calf and avoids the damage to the heel from tissue compression, which reduces the blood supply to the skin and other tissues.
The duration and intensity of the heel pressure along with other intrinsic factors such as arterial blood supply or edema can contribute to rapid onset of ischemia and pressure injury, or heel ulcers from lack of circulation.
HeelAHip® offloads to the calf to avoid the loss of circulation in the heels rather than relying on the archaic use of suspended limbs or other re-purposed hospital equipment.
Notice how the traditional abduction pillow does not offload the weight of the leg and therefore has the potential to cause pressure injury while the patented HeelAHip® pillow suspends the heel and shifts the weight of the leg across the entire calf.
It’s known that patients frequently reject being touched or moved after hip surgery due to hip pain and their heels can remain on the mattress for long periods of time. This extended time causes further compression of the tissue over the bone and eventually leads to the development of ischemic pressure injury.
HeelAHip® offloads the bony prominences of the heels and ankles to the calf muscle rather than relying on the archaic use of re-purposed hospital supplies.
THE ORTHOPEDIC SOLUTION TO:
Secure Hip Abduction
Heel Offloading
US Patent # 8,156,941
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