Expanding the comfort of postmastectomy patients using the Papilla Gown

To determine whether the Papilla Gown designed specifically to meet the needs of postmastectomy patients with a closed drainage system in place is more comfortable than is a typical hospital gown.

The closed wound drainage system used for breast cancer patients immediately following mastectomy requires external drainage tubes that connect to a pouch. The pins that are usually used to attach the drains to a patient's gown create problems. The Papilla Gown (Papilla is the Latin term for breast) was designed with safety pouches for supporting the drains.

A convenience sample of 13 postmastectomy patients participated in this preliminary study of the gown's use. Participants were taught how to properly wear the typical hospital gown and Papilla Gown before surgery. Patients were discharged with the gowns and two questionnaires that were to be returned approximately 1 week following surgery. Thirteen of the 38 (34%) who agreed to participate submitted usable forms. The Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used for comparing the comfort scores of the Papilla with the hospital gown.

Participants reported significantly higher scores (p<.003) for the Papilla Gown on all of Comfort Questionnaire's 10 items, except one (p=.337) related to fear of pulling out the drainage tubes. Specifically, patients felt more comfortable about their appearance in the gowns, their ability to move, and the support of the drainage tubes.

The newly designed Papilla Gown shows promise for meeting the purpose of increasing the comfort of postmastectomy patients with closed drainage systems.

The Papilla Gown was designed to address the comfort, mobility, and body image issues that patients face during the first week following a mastectomy, when they are dealing with such issues as the cancer diagnosis, loss of a breast, and managing drainage tubes. Preliminary results show that nurses can improve patient satisfaction by providing clothing that is comfortable, attractive, and supports the drainage system in place during this critical time.