Leakage is one of the most common issues that occur with individuals with ostomies. Whether or not you can prevent this leakage almost entirely depends on the ability of your ostomy bag’s skin barrier to adhere to the skin around the stoma.
Most of the skin barriers come with a flat surface, which has to go against the peristomal skin. While these barriers work just fine in most of the cases, they might not form a proper seal when there is a retracted stoma. What may work well in such scenarios is to apply adequate pressure on the peristomal skin area to make the stoma protrude a little to gain access to the area where skin and stoma meet.
A convex barrier, or flange, has a faceplate that appears protruded. This protrusion allows the faceplate to reach inside the peristomal skin, forming a proper seal around the stoma to prevent leakage.
The primary purpose of convexity in a skin barrier is the provision of an optimum stoma seal. These flanges are particularly beneficial for individuals who have stomas of uneven shapes and sizes. Moreover, these barriers address a lot of irregularities of the peristomal skin. A convex flange addresses skin irregularities by applying pressure on the peristomal skin to make the stoma protrude. The flange’s protrusion that has to go against the peristomal skin applies the required amount of pressure to form a tighter and more secure seal. And since the barrier part of the system leaves no room between its faceplate and the peristomal skin area, the pouching system directs all of the stomal output into the bag without allowing it to seep through the area underneath the flange.
The ability of a convex flange to make the stoma protrude also allows the stoma to move freely in response to the bowel movements. And since the outward curve of the faceplate presses the peristomal skin adequately, it doesn’t allow any leakage to occur.
Doctors recommend convex flanges to the patients suffering from excessive ostomy leaks, retracted stomas, telescopic stomas, high output stomas, and several other issues that are difficult to rectify using normal skin barriers
Only a doctor or ostomy care nurse can suggest whether or not you can use a convex flange. It means that if you want to use a convex flange to manage your ostomy, you are going to have to discuss with your doctor whether or not you are eligible for it. If your stoma or peristomal skin bleeds, or the skin is vulnerable to developing pain and rashes, your doctor will not recommend the use of convex flanges.