Innovations That Work!

Looking for what’s new in the wound, ostomy, continence care arena? Welcome to the annual Innovations issue of Ostomy Wound Management, where manufacturers and clinicians have the opportunity to share new and noteworthy information on their products and services. The listings are alphabetical by product.

You also can access comprehensive product descriptions via the Wounds360 Product Guide, available at www.wounds360bg.com. In addition, please read the Wounds360 Product Bulletins, emailed to your inbox, that will alert you to product launches and updates. You will always be on top of your supply game with OWM.

Product: 3M™ Cavilon™ Advanced Skin Protectant 

Company: 3M

Website: www.3M.com/EndIAD

3M™ Cavilon™ Advanced Skin Protectant is a high-endurance skin protectant designed to stop, reverse, and prevent the damaging effects of moderate to severe incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD). As a catalyst for reshaping IAD management and standard of care, the skin protectant creates an effective, long-lasting barrier on both intact and wet, weeping skin. The unique barrier is breathable and comfortable through application, wear, and cleansing processes, protecting for up to 7 days and wearing away naturally. Cavilon Advanced Skin Protectant saves clinicians time with its easy-to-use, single-use applicator, speeding up the application process and decreasing the potential for contamination associated with multi-use tubes. The skin protectant also can help reduce the risks that contribute to pressure injuries. A once painful experience for patients and a time-consuming process for clinicians, IAD can be better managed with Cavilon Advanced Skin Protectant.

Product: Amalgatome® SD Skin Grafting and Wound Debridement Device 

Company: Exsurco Medical

Website: www.exsurco.com

One device. Multiple capabilities. Engineered to deliver the best possible outcomes for burn and trauma patients, the Amalgatome® SD represents a decisive leap forward in skin grafting and wound debridement technology. The pneumatically powered Amalgatome SD provides effective wound debridement, including removal of necrotic tissue and eschar, and it can produce uniform, consistent skin grafts in thicknesses ranging from 0.005" to 0.045" in increments of 0.001 inches — all combined into 1 device along with precision-geared Excision Ring™ Blades — to provide a 360˚ cutting surface for optimum performance.

Product: AxoBioMembrane™

Company: Axolotl Biologix

Website: www.axobio.com/axobiomembrane-1

AxoBioMembrane™ is a dehydrated allograft amnion membrane patch that clinicians can use to repair wounds and replace skin. The allograft, drawn from living donors after a screening process, has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. In addition, AxoBioMembrane has extracellular matrix components for cellular attachment and proliferation. The product is easy to use and has an extended shelf life.

Product: Brava® Protective Seal 

Company: Coloplast Corp.

Website: www.coloplast.us

The Brava® Protective Seal is a new moldable, extended-wear protective seal designed to create a secure fit between the stoma and ostomy barrier. It is durable and resistant to break down, even when it comes in contact with caustic output. The seal helps maintain healthy skin by absorbing moisture from the skin surface  while maintaining its shape, adhesion to the skin, and a secure seal around the stoma. It is easy to mold, so it can be applied over skin with dips, creases, and folds; it stays where you put it and removes cleanly and easily away from the skin. The Brava Protective Seal comes in 3 different sizes and 2 different thicknesses to offer a custom moldable, extended-wear solution.

Clinician testimonial: We love those protective seals you gave us to trial, especially the larger thicker ones. They were very helpful for a couple of people with tricky, larger stomas.   — Kathy, WOC Nurse, New York   

Product: Curity™ Elastic Bandages with Hook and Loop Closure (available in sterile and nonsterile) 

Company: Medtronic

Website: www.medtronic.com/covidien

Our Curity™ bandages provide light compression to help reduce the risk of trauma and stress to your patients’ skin through application, wear, and removal. The bandages also provide support when used as a primary or secondary dressing. Features include color-coded stitching for size identification, latex-free material, cotton/polyester blend, asterile version in a peel pouch, and an individually wrapped nonsterile version with perforated packaging for easy opening. The bandages also are intuitive — just apply one end of the bandage with the hook-and-loop closure facing up, wrap the bandage, and use the closure on the other end to secure the entire dressing.

Product: Flow Collector 

Company: B. Braun Medical Inc.

Website: www.BBraunUSA.com

The Flow Collector is an ostomy and fistula management product designed to easily and securely connect to B. Braun’s Flexima® High Output Pouches. With a 2-L collection bag and 5-foot-long discreet, white tube that can be cut every 12" to adjust length, the Flow Collector is designed for overnight collection to allow for less frequent emptying. The bag offers a ¾”-wide opening for draining and cleaning, which is larger than most other bags on the market. The integration of the pouches, tubing, and collection bag facilitates ready use. The Flow Collector provides discreet examination and collection of output owing to its opaque vinyl, which is not made with natural rubber latex, DEHP, or PVC.

Product: Hydrofera Blue Ready foam 

Company: Hollister, Inc.

Website: www.hollisterwoundcare.com/products/hydrofera_blue_ready_foam.aspx .

An established wound care dressing is now available in a foam format. According to the manufacturer, Hydrofera Blue Ready foam can prevent infection due to its antibacterial properties. The dressing offers broad-spectrum protection via methylene blue and gentian violet to absorb and retain wound exudate. Hydrofera Blue Ready foam does not require hydration before application and does not require a secondary dressing. Patients can wear Hydrofera Blue Ready foam for up to 7 days and can wear it with compression wraps and total contact casting.

Product: Hydrogel and Wound Cleanser 

Company: Pure & Clean

Website: www.pureandclean.us

Pure & Clean is changing the way health care professionals approach wound care. Our products can promote healing without damaging the most delicate cells. Our wound management technology offers 18-month shelf stable HOCl (hypochlorous acid) Hydrogel, Wound Cleanser OTC, and Wound Cleanser Rx solutions. HOCl is a weak acid (similar pH to intact skin), is a naturally occurring substance in our bodies, and is the same chemical that white blood cells produce to fight infection and kill bacteria. Unlike some solutions, Pure & Clean offers noncytotoxic solutions that do not damage cellular growth factors such as keratinocytes, macrophages, and fibroblasts. Pure & Clean products can simplify the wound care process and should always be applied first. Try Pure & Clean on chronic wounds that aren’t healing. When nothing else seems to work, use Pure & Clean first!

Clinician testimonial: Pure & Clean wound cleanser is the only wound care agent I use on myself, my family, and my patients. Using Pure & Clean, I am certain I am offering a wound care agent that is safe, nontoxic, and effective — in 3 years I can say I have never seen an allergy or untoward reaction to this solution. I can’t say that about any other wound care agent or cleanser on the planet. — John “Bucky” Buckner, MD, FASHE

Product: Kendall™ Gentle Border Foam Sacrum Dressings (available in nonantimicrobial and AMD antimicrobial) 

Company: Medtronic

Website: www.medtronic.com/covidien

Our gentle border foam sacrum dressings are designed to help prevent and treat pressure injuries. They feature a unique winged design for secure application, gentle silicone adhesive for minimal trauma and continued wear time, soft polyurethane foam to help relieve pressure, a silky/soft waterproof top sheet with high moisture vapor transmission rate to help reduce friction and shear, and high absorbency to maintain moisture balance.

Product: KerraCel® Ag gelling dressing with Ag Oxysalts™ 

Company: Crawford Healthcare

Website: https://crawfordhealthcare.us

Crawford Healthcare has introduced the first absorbent dressing that helps battle 3 major barriers to healing: excess exudate, infection, and biofilm. KerraCel Ag+3 is a unique combination of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) gelling fibers and Ag Oxysalts™. Ag Oxysalts™ is a novel silver compound that has higher reactivity and higher solubility than other silvers, resulting in a more powerful silver that can kill bacteria within a biofilm and prevent biofilm reformation.  The CMC substrate, which gels on contact with exudate, contours to the wound bed and locks in harmful fluid components such as bacteria and matrix metalloproteinases. These gelling fibers only wick vertically to keep exudate away from the wound edges and help avoid maceration. KerraCel Ag+3 is indicated for moderately to highly exuding wounds, but it also can be moistened and applied to dry wounds.

Product: Mepilex® Border Post-Op Ag 

Company: Mölnlycke Health Care

Website: www.molnlycke.us

Mölnlycke’s new Mepilex Border Post-Op dressings are specifically designed for incisions, with a new unique flex-cut pad that stretches in all directions and conforms to the body even as it moves. The dressing includes Safetac® technology that drastically reduces both the pain and tissue damage in wound management and includes a shower-proof seal. Available as a standard or antimicrobial dressing, Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag contains highly soluble silver that starts inactivating pathogenic bacteria within 30 minutes. The Mepilex® Border Post-Op line of dressings are available through most medical products distributors.

Product: Mepilex® Border Sacrum and Heel

Company: Mölnlycke Health Care

Website: www.molnlycke.us

Mölnlycke’s newly enhanced Mepilex® Border Pressure Ulcer Prevention dressings are specifically designed to address the factors that cause pressure ulcers. These unique dressings have been upgraded with improved user features for simpler handling and use while providing the same clinically proven design that clinicians trust and have captured the number one market position. Mepilex Border Sacrum now has handling tabs, as well as 5 full layers and sealing tabs at the gluteal cleft like no other sacral dressing on the market today. 

The upgraded Mepilex Border Heel dressings also have handling tabs, as well as an increased foam pad size and ankle coverage. The thicker border on both products enables improved handling and stay-on ability. Each of the unique 5 layers of the Mepilex Border dressings serves a specific purpose, contributing to its strength, durability and absorbency. No other dressing on the market exhibits these same properties or the proven results for use in protecting against pressure ulcers.   

Product: NovaGran™ Wound Care Products 

Company: Principle Business Enterprises

Website: www.novagranproducts.com

NovaGran™ Wound Care Products — a system of products offering wound care professionals and their patients a SEA (Simple • Effective • Affordable) Change approach to treat/heal both acute and chronic wounds. Recent research suggests biofilm exists in all chronic wounds; the harmful presence of biofilm in chronic, nonhealing wounds triggers an unregulated, innate immune response. The result is an immune feedback loop that can be described as a local-level immune disorder at the wound site. NovaGran’s Simple 3-Step System addresses wounds hijacked by biofilm by: 1) preparing the wound bed by disrupting biofilm, 2) providing ongoing remediation of the biofilm/bacterial load, and 3) managing wound exudate.

NovaGran Wound Care Products take wound healing back to basics and offer complete wound care from cleansing to closure. Samples of NovaGran Wound Care Products are available for evaluation by calling (888) 980-9702.

Product: PressureAlert® 

Company: Digital Health Solutions, a division of DM Systems Inc.

Website: www.digitalhealths.com

PressureAlert is an innovative technological solution to pressure injuries. Smart dressings measure pressure on at-risk areas of the body and communicate with a tablet at the patient’s bedside. The tablet then alerts patients and caregivers that a predetermined pressure/time threshold has been exceeded, suggesting the patient be turned or otherwise moved off the pressure.

Trials have been conducted that show a significant reduction of facility-acquired pressure injuries, faster healing of existing pressure injuries, and associated cost savings.

Product: PreviSense™ No Sting Barrier Film 

Company: Mölnlycke Health Care

Website: www.molnlycke.us

PreviSense™ No Sting Barrier Film forms a waterproof, transparent, protective barrier that protects intact and damaged skin from incontinence and other bodily fluids, friction, and adhesive trauma for up to 72 hours. The spray-on barrier film is nontacky when dry and does not stick to fabrics or itself, so it is ideal for skin folds.

PreviSense No Sting Antimicrobial Barrier Film is the first liquid film barrier to incorporate an antimicrobial. The innovative and first-of-its-kind barrier film forms a protective, waterproof barrier against bacterial penetration on damaged skin and minor wounds. Unlike other liquid barrier films, it can be used on infected, damaged skin to protect against further bacterial contamination. Other barrier films are contraindicated on infected skin.

PreviSense liquid barrier films join the full range of PreviSense skin care products, which are part of Mölnlycke Health Care’s comprehensive solutions for pressure injury prevention.

Product: Prontosan® Wound Gel X 

Company: B. Braun Medical Inc.

Website: www.ProntosanWoundCare.com

Wound care professionals are using Prontosan® Wound Gel X to help ease their patients’ journey from hospital to home. The clear and odorless wound gel offers a gentle healing experience from the start, and patients report it is easy to apply and offers good comfort during treatment. With an effective microbial barrier, Gel X creates a favorable wound healing environment. Gel X facilitates autolytic debridement and is the only wound gel with betadine (a surfactant) and polyhexanide (a preservative) to resist microbial colonization within the dressing. Gel X is for use on diabetic foot, leg, and pressure ulcers; first-degree and second-degree burns; partial-thickness and full-thickness wounds; large surface area wounds; and surgical incisions. The high viscosity, aqueous gel adheres to large wound surfaces, washes off easily, and reduces the pain of daily dressing changes.

Product: Qora™ Stool Management Kit 

Company: Consure Medical Inc.

Website: www.consuremedical.com

Qora™ is engineered to contain fecal exudate, reduce spread of nosocomial infections, protect the patient and health care worker from cross-contamination, and save money by avoiding costly fines due to hospital acquired conditions (HACs). Qora™ SMK has 100% odor barrier properties that enhance patient safety and care. The hygienic device applicator minimizes contamination and aids in optimal positioning of the lattice retention mechanism. The retention feature conforms to the anatomy during peristalsis. The device also includes built-in access ports for fluid delivery and stool sample collection, along with a safe withdrawal mechanism.

Qora™’s innovative technology and expanded indication translates to potentially 3 times more infection control for patients with infectious diarrhea or fecal incontinence. Also, Qora™ can help reduce daily costs of fecal containment and infection control by up to 75%. Most importantly, Qora helps avoid costly regulatory fines by reducing incidence of HACs.

Clinical testimonial: My mother has been in the ICU for almost 2 months due to a paralytic stroke. Unfortunately, her sacral region has developed grade II pressure ulcers. I’m so glad we’ve shifted from pads to Qora™ – there is an immense improvement in her skin condition and overall health with the device over the last 21 days! – Leading physician, Critical Care Intensivist

Product: SenSura® Mio Convex 

Company: Coloplast Corp.

Website: www.coloplast.us

An ostomy shouldn’t hold your patients back from living the life they want, but 76% of people with an ostomy in a recent study said they experience leakage. That number is even higher for patients who use a convex product. Too frequently, patients (and nurses) have had to compromise when they chose a convex ostomy product: they could either get the stability they needed (with a rigid barrier that dug in and didn’t bend or conform well to the body) or they could select a comfortable and flexible product that compromised on stability around the stoma. Thanks to its unique FlexShell with integrated flexlines, Coloplast’s SenSura Mio Convex doesn’t compromise on flexibility or stability. It’s engineered to provide needed stability around the stoma while enabling the conformable, elastic barrier to bend and flex comfortably with your patient’s body movements as s/he sits, stretches, and gets back to life.

Clinician testimonial: In a company-sponsored product evaluation, 80% of nurses evaluated SenSura Mio Convex to be “much better” or “better” than their current convex solution.

Product: Smart Sleeve 

Company: Carolon

Website: www.carolon.com

Read and adjust compression instantly: For the first time ever, clinicians have an accurate and cost-effective way to ensure their patients receive the most appropriate compression for their needs. Carolon Sleeve and Reader can be used with our proprietary compression wrap for maximum effectiveness or with any other compression bandage. The device comprises calibrated, disposable, flexible, low-profile compression sensor that attaches to the sleeve to record pressure at any point on the limb; an antimicrobial sleeve with vertically knit conductive yarns made of a moisture-wicking terrycloth material that allow the sensor to be easily connected to the external reader and help hold primary dressing in place; a ruggedly constructed, battery-powered, portable reader that features a large visibility digital screen; and an edema-reactive, breathable, moisture-wicking compression wrap that has easily controlled compression application and a force indicator to ensure graduated compression to provide stable compression for up to 7 days.

Clinician testimonial: The Carolon Smart Sleeve has been a positive addition to the teaching program at the Abrams Wound Healing Center at Temple University. We now have the ability to measure the pressure beneath any multilayer wrap we may use for reduction of edema, the treatment of venous ulcers, and related conditions. The importance of being able to document and have consistency from one provider to the next or for the same provider for one session to the next tremendously improves clinical assessment and the ability to monitor and modify therapy depending patient response. Additionally, the device is a valuable tool for training our students and staff. Patients also have been more accepting of compression they previously complained was too tight when they physically see that the pressure applied is what is indicated for their condition. — James McGuire DPM, FAPWHc, Director, Wound Healing Center,Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine

Product: Suture Skills Trainer 

Company: VATA

Website: www.vatainc.com

VATA will launch 2 new medical skill training products at the International Meeting of Simulation in Healthcare in Orlando, FL (January 28–31, 2018). The 3500 Suture Skills Trainer consists of 5 anatomically correct tissue layers in a 5" x 8" tissue pad that mimic the look and feel of live human tissue better than cadaveric or pig’s feet and is more practical and cost effective. This trainer comes with a compact carrying case, sutures, and surgical grade suturing tools; it is durable, stain resistant, and can be used again and again by simply removing the sutures. The 0705 Vascular Access Ultrasound Phantom is flesh-colored with the tactile feel and puncture-resistance of real human tissue and is also extremely durable — it can be accessed thousands of times and is self-healing. Unlike the typical flat phantoms, the 0705 Vascular Access Ultrasound Phantom has a curved contour that mimic the contours of patients. Both products are extremely life-like and designed to educate medical staff and further improve patient experience and care.

Clinician testimonial: The 3500 Suture Skills Trainer is incredibly life-like and really feels like you are operating and suturing on normal tissue. I think it could replace the need for human tissue at medical schools and academic centers that teach suturing to students. — Dr. Michael Zenn, Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon

Product: Tortoise® Turning and Positioning System 

Company: Mölnlycke Health Care

Website: www.molnlycke.us

One of the cornerstones of pressure ulcer prevention is effectively repositioning a patient. But repositioning patients isn’t always easy — they can be heavy, frail, or both — so safety is critical to protect both patients and caregivers.

The Mölnlycke® Tortoise® Turning and Positioning System includes a positioning mat with a low-pressure air chamber designed to adapt to the patient by positive air displacement. It also helps in turning the patient to offload the sacrum. The low-friction mat is fitted with ergonomic handles on both sides, allowing caregivers to maintain proper body mechanics while turning the patient. The mat has been proven to reduce caregiver back injuries related to patient turning and repositioning.

Once the patient is placed, the ground-breaking Mölnlycke® Z-Flo™ Fluidized Positioners can be used to maintain the right therapeutic position. The fluidized positioner can be molded with your hands into the exact shape for each individual patient.

Product: V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE™ Dressing for use with V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy 

Company: Acelity

Website: www.acelity.com

The V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE™ Dressing, when used with V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy, can be used to initiate immediate wound cleansing therapy and facilitate removal of wound exudates and infectious materials.  The dressing’s unique 3-layer design provides “mechanical” movement at the wound surface in combination with cyclic delivery and dwell of topical solutions, facilitating softening and removal of thick exudate material such as fibrin, slough, and other infectious material and providing a wound cleansing option for clinicians when surgical debridement must be delayed or is not possible or appropriate. The dressing allows for easy application with flexibility based on wound shape and size. The V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE™ Dressing is ideal for dirty wounds needing immediate wound cleansing.

Clinician testimonial: The V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE™ Dressing allowed V.A.C. VERAFLO™ Therapy to visibly decrease the nonviable tissue in the wound base. When surgical debridement is not an option, the V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE™ Dressing kit has allowed a therapeutic treatment option. It has assisted our limb preservation patients, postsurgical patients, and chronically ill patient population. I am happy to have a dressing kit option for almost any wound now.  — Elizabeth F. McElroy, MSN, CRNP, CWS, CWOCN, Reading Health System, West Reading, PA