US 
eakin Wound Pouches™ provide a humane way to manage fungating tumours
Submitted by Elisa van de Ree, Community nurse SVRZ ZorgThuis, The Netherlands
Patient History
75-year-old lady with previous diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004 resulting in a mastectomy, and a successful programme of treatment.
September 2018
• Diagnosis of sarcoma on the site of mastectomy.
• Terminal diagnosis with prognosis of approximately 6 months, care focused on patient comfort.
• Expectation that the tumour will continue to grow larger. Patient treated with radiotherapy to keep the skin flexible for tumour growth.
• Doctors indicate that there is a high risk of bleeding and sarcoma in blood vessels.
• Patient managing at home with help from her husband.
May 2019 – August 2019:
• Tumour growing rapidly, and the community care team is appointed to care for the patient.
• Tumour grows larger every month and wound care becomes increasingly difficult.
• Wound care from the community team is expanded to twice per day.
• Tumour continues to exude highly, and absorbent dressings become saturated quickly.
• Wound care is expanded to three times per day.
• The community care team find it difficult to care for the wound due to the growing tumour, tissue coming off, high risk of bleeding and the wellbeing of the patient.
September 2019:
• Leakage continues to be extremely problematic and the patient suffers constant wet clothing and bed linen.
• The three-time daily dressing changes cause considerable physical discomfort and anxiety for the patient, her family and carers.
Solution
To find a more appropriate product that would provide greater wear time and comfort, the community care team contact eakin® who recommend use of our extra-large eakin Wound Pouch™ (839263).
They visit the lady’s home to educate the nursing team on how to fit the eakin Wound Pouch™ to this very challenging wound, causing minimal disruption to a very ill patient.
Step-by-step guide to fit an eakin Wound Pouch™
Use eakin release™ adhesive remover to remove previous application. Clean and dry skin.
In this case, and in an effort to reduce waste, the cut-out section of eakin Cohesive® material was reused alongside eakin Cohesive SLIMS® and eakin Cohesive StomaWrap™ to fill all dips and crevices and create an even pouching surface.
Remove the white release paper and apply to the wound. Use gentle pressure to ensure good adhesion.
Please remember when reusing cut-out sections of eakin Cohesive® from
eakin Wound Pouches™ to peel away the medical film prior to use.
Result
After suffering three-time daily dressing, clothing and bedding changes,
the eakin Wound Pouch™ achieved a wear time of 3 to 4 days without leakage.
The community care team no longer had to interfere with the wound multiple times a day which meant that disruption to the terminally ill patient was significantly reduced.
The eakin Wound Pouch™ successfully contained unpleasant odour and wound exudate, considerably reducing the need for clothing and bedding changes.
The eakin Wound Pouch™ provided comfort to the patient and contributed to improving the emotional well-being of both the patient and her husband.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the condition of the patient deteriorated rapidly and she passed away on the evening of 30th September 2019.
The community nurses were pleased to avail of the eakin Wound Pouch™, with the patient’s husband commenting that it had been a great solution for his wife.