Bio-Concepts custom pressure garments are available in 30 colors. The default color is tan (beige). Two or more fabric colors in the same garment are considered an optional feature and will be charged accordingly, but thread color and fabric color on the same garment may be mixed at no extra charge. Your Bio-Concepts information portfolio contains a guide to our garment colors.

You may specify the color using its descriptive name, such as “Country Blue,” or you may use the corresponding code, “C05,” shown on the color guide. To specify a fabric color and thread color, write, “C05 w/C09,” for Country Blue fabric color with Navy Blue thread color. You may also use the descriptive names, “Country Blue with Navy Blue.” Do not write “C05 & C09,” or “C05/C09,” when you are indicating a fabric color with a thread color, or we might misinterpret that to mean you want two sets of garments, one Country Blue and one Navy Blue.

An insert does not refer to a device that is inserted between the fabric and the skin. We cut out a piece of the “self” material (the material that the garment is made from) and sew in a piece of soft stretchy “Insert Material” in its place. Insert Material stretches well in every direction and is soft and comfortable. Inserts are especially useful for preventing the regular garment material from bunching in the front of the ankle, elbow, and the back of the knee. Common insert locations include the anterior elbow, posterior knee, chin, crown of the head, thumb web, and breasts. Elbow and knee inserts can only be placed accurately if you specify the location of the elbow and knee on the measurement chart.

 Expansion panels are often requested for extremity garments and vests to allow for minor changes in patient measurements, especially children, in order to extend the life of the garment. Expansion panels are also useful for the upper extremity lymphedema patient who often experiences cyclic measurement changes throughout the day. The panels are typically 1 1/2-2 1/2 inches wide and are, by default installed posteriorly on a lower extremity garment and laterally on vests and ulnarly on sleeves. Inserts and expansion panels are made of the same fabric we call “Insert Material”. Inserts are generally small pieces, rectangular or oval. Expansion panels, on the other hand, are long narrow strips.

Linings are very useful for those patients with highly sensitive areas, especially donor sites, recently grafted regions, and areas of skin breakdown. Linings are most useful in preventing skin breakdown where the garment would rub. We use our “Lining Material” which is very smooth and soft and sew it to the inside of the garment in the specified area. We can also line the entire inside of the garment. We can leave one side of an area of lining unsewn, making a pocket, so that padding or orthoplastic devices may be inserted. This could be useful to help apply pressure to a concave area of the body, such as the palm of the hand, the axillae, or an area of tissue removal. Bio-Concepts can provide the padding and leave it open or sew it in place, or we can leave the pocket open and you can insert your own devices.

Many therapists are familiar with the use of of medical-grade silicone products in the treatment of troublesome hypertrophic and keloid scars. Our Silon-TEX product is used as a lining on the inside of our regular garment fabrics. It will last the life of the garment and, since it is sewn into the garment, it cannot become loose or dislodged. Specify the location or locations on the garment where Silon is required. In addition, the high friction surface of the Silon-TEX material makes it useful to prevent garments from slipping. At your request we can line the top band of a stocking or a sleeve with Silon-TEX. We can leave one side of an area of lining unsewn, making a pocket, so that padding or orthoplastic devices may be inserted. This could be useful to help apply pressure to a concave area of the body, such as the palm of the hand, the axillae, or an area of tissue removal. Bio-Concepts can provide the padding and leave it open or sew it in place, or we can leave the pocket open and you can insert your own devices.

Torso zippers are a standard feature of Vests (#30, #31), Body Briefs (#24, #25), and Body Suits (#26 , #29), just tell us whether the zipper should be located in the back or front of the garment. Zippers are optional features for all other garments. Zippers may be located in virtually any position or length you can imagine, so it is important that you be complete and specific in telling us where to locate a zipper and how long to make it. In addition, you may want to consider that zippers are stiffer than the rest of the garment and they tend to buckle when flexed. Generally, it is not a good idea to locate a zipper over the anterior ankle or anterior or posterior elbows or knees. There could be situations, however, in which otherwise undesirable placements would be necessary. For toddlers and infants, consider locating zippers in the back of vests and suits to prevent the child from opening the zipper.

All of our zippers come with a locking mechanism, however, some of the more active patients may find that the zipper opens on some garments, especially vests and gloves. Request a “Zipper Stop Tab” for these patients. It consists of a one to two inch long hook & loop strap that covers the top of a zipper, holding the two sides of the zipper together.

Patients wearing a vest together with a brief or leotard may experience discomfort when they bend and the two garments separate. We can design the garments to overlap and we would incorporate hook & loop patches to allow the two garments to be joined. The default configuration is to place the loop piece on the inside of the vest, and the hook piece on the outside of the brief or leotard.

Hook and loop, often known by the trade name Velcro® (registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V.), may substitute for a zipper. This may be useful for patients who require expandability in their garment closure. It is important to realize that the hook & loop is even stiffer than a zipper and may cause discomfort for some patients.

This is the same clasp used in women’s brassieres. The obese or physically challenged patient may be unable to coordinate holding the two sides of a zipper on a large garment (such as a vest or full-length stocking) and zipping them together. Consider adding a hook & eye, one at the bottom of the zipper, one at the middle, and one at the top. The hook & eye clasp is installed on the inside of the zipper so the patient can secure the clasp, then be free to negotiate the zipper.