UOAA Discussion Board

Just tried the latest Convatec soft convex because I wanted to be sure I had an alternative if my reliable Hollister soft convex suddenly wasn't reliable.

I can see why people squawk about the new Convatec closure. But that wasn't the deal-breaker for me.

My skin does NOT like Tegaderm. It starts weeping/sweating under it. Well, the Convatec soft convex does not have a tape collar, it has a sort of film collar. And after a few hours of it.... my skin felt weird so I took off the pouch and I saw that same wetness.

Ah well. Seemed a decent system otherwise. My only other complaint was that I like the "squarish" Hollister soft convex faceplate so I have some orientation when I'm cutting. The Convatec plate is round so it's trickier to cut to my oval shape.

While in the hospital after rectal cancer surgery with an ileostomy, they fitted me with a Coloplast convex bag and I continued to wear this product for a couple of months with great success. I was developing a hernia right underneath my stoma and these Coloplast bags kept leaking no matter how many of their bag products I tried. Also, for some reason, the flange edging was causing itching.

I switched to Convatec convex products and really liked the fabric like tape collar. It 'stuck' nicely and no rashes. But, as the hernia grew, I started having problems keeping the bags on due to leaking. I tried several different sizes and types and had leakages each time. Throughout all of this putting on bags and taking them off I developed a nasty skin problem surrounding my stoma which has now been a problem for several months.

Currently, I cannot keep any stoma bags on, so you can imagine the mess I live with every day and heading towards a reversal. Ostomy wound nurses are stumped as to how to treat this, with method after method failing. I'm terrified thinking about reversal surgery, however, I feel I have no option.

So as to your question, I can't really say the product was the cause of this current stoma issue because I did have success with Covatec for a few months.

I used Convatec for a few years until I developed an allergic reaction to the wafer. Used Hollister for many years until they stopped making my wafer and bag last years. I was not impressed with the the samples they sent me. I now use Coloplast SenSure Mio. They also have a special wafer designed (star shape wafer that flips in to place) for people who have hernias.

Good luck,

Nickolas