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Tuesday 21 April 2015

An Exciting New Product Range

Last week my hubby went to the dentist, and told him all about what I had been going through recently. The dentist told him that he has a friend who owns a medical manufacturing company and they have recently broken into the ostomy market with a remarkable new product which is taking the ostomy world by storm. At a recent symposium in Sweden, the new product wowed all the delegates (and probably got them seriously worried!). They are building a new factory with robots and sterile packing areas, and they have won the Queen’s Award for Industry with this innovation.

The company is called Trio Ostomy Care, and the product they have developed is a new breathable silicone. Up until now, surgical silicone has not been breathable, which is quite a drawback as long-term contact with the skin can cause problems. The adhesives used in nearly all available ostomy products is a hydrocolloid substance which, while breathable, is also absorbent, and can soak up any leakage from the stoma, causing skin irritation. To have developed a compound which is both breathable and non-absorbent is a breakthrough indeed.

On their website they give details of the four products in their line: two stoma rings (one flat, one convex) in different sizes; their silicone gel for filling creases and uneven skin, and their banana flanges  (flange extenders).

My hubby phoned them and told them about our dentist knowing their MD, and later on a lady phoned, and I was able to speak to her. You can order samples from the website, but I asked her on the phone, and she enquired what size my stoma was, and we spoke a bit about my various needs etc. I asked if she could send enough samples for me to take in to show the stoma nurse next week, and she said she could do better than that – if I gave her the name, and the address of the hospital, she would send them a nice box of supplies, and some information, so that they could be equipped, and have samples to offer to their patients. She said she would put the samples in the post that night.

She told me that all their products were available free on prescription, and the stoma nurse said that there should be no problem with my supplier (Patient Choice) getting hold of supplies for me.

My pack arrived today, which I think is pretty efficient! I am very impressed by the attractive packaging.

Trio Sample Pack

Inside the pack:

Trio Sample Pack Open

They have sent me three silicone rings, a small tube of the gel, and four banana flanges.

Trio Siltac Rings

On the website, there are Youtube videos about each product. When you open the blister pack for the ring, the ring is stuck inside. You roll the edge till you’ve got enough to get hold of, and then pull it out. It stretches quite alarmingly! However, as you hold it, it gradually shrinks back into shape again. When you place this over the stoma, making sure there are no air bubbles, it will slide into place, making a perfect seal around the stoma, adjusting itself to any irregularities, and it is then less critical to cut the hole in the bag to be such an accurate fit.

I am really looking forward to trying this when I do a bag change tomorrow, and also the new bags the stoma nurse gave me yesterday.

Trio Silken Gel Sample

Trio Banana Strips

My hubby told the stoma nurse all about these products at my appointment yesterday, and she was very, very interested – he had printed out some pages from their website about the products which he left with her.

I have another appointment next Monday with her, and I am looking forward to being able to report how well I am doing with the new products, and also hearing what they think about them, too. Hopefully by then the skin irritation will have cleared up, too.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Onwards and upwards! I am sure I will conquer these problems eventually, and I am prepared to try anything that works!

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