For stoma care nurses, we appreciate there are numerous considerations when choosing the right ostomy products for each individual. Things such as skin topography, co-morbidities, ostomy shape and size and treatment plans are just some of the vast list of considerations.

For the ostomate too, they have come through major surgery and whether planned or unplanned, stoma formation is life changing. Cowell, Kupsick and McNichol (2016) highlighted 18 different things an ostomate should know before being discharged from care¹ including when to seek professional help, pouch application and removal, resizing baseplates, diet and fluid intake and much more. Taking in all of this can feel overwhelming, especially in the early days and therefore it’s not surprising issues can then occur.

In a hospital setting with close management stoma or wound care routines can be monitored and work very well. However, when the patient is discharged problems can occur. We see multiple cases where this has happened where carers aren’t trained in managing ostomies or the individual themselves is struggling to replicate a secure fit. Scroll down to read the two case studies below to see the challenges experienced in these situations.

In both cases, the care teams were unable to secure the right fit outside of the acute / hospital setting without changes to the stoma care routine.