Convatec announced that it has launched Esteem Body? with Leak Defense? in the United States.

The use of soft convexity ostomy barriers, starting post-surgery, is a growing practice fueled in part by global obesity, which has nearly tripled since 1975. The trend has driven abdominal topography changes and related challenges for ostomy care management, such as skin folds and complicated abdominal contours. Convatec's new offering to address this growing patient need is a comprehensive, one-piece, soft convexity ostomy system portfolio designed to fit a full range of body types and stoma shapes.

The portfolio includes drainable, closed-end, and urostomy pouching solutions. There are five principal characteristics of convexity design, with two of these ? 'tension location' and 'convex depth' - serving as significant drivers for achieving clinical goals of stoma protrusion and/or skin flattening.

Convatec's Esteem Body? offers eight different combinations of these key characteristics, with four 'tension locations' (split centrally and peripherally) across two different 'convex depths'. This range gives greater choice and provides the healthcare provider and ostomate the ability to achieve the best possible fit, given that each person living with an ostomy is unique.

Leak Defense? refers to the exclusive combination of Convatec's gold-standard adhesives (Durahesive® and Modified Stomahesive®) coupled with the comprehensive, soft convexity range, which together are designed to adapt to the body for a secure seal that can help prevent leaks and achieve a predictable wear time. The product also offers Convatec's new 'body' pouch, which comes in a patented '8-shape' that has been designed to sag less as it fills.

The soft yet water-repellent 'flocking' material, that covers both sides of the pouch, is a warm gray color that hides content, even when wet, and is also discreet, even when worn under white clothing. The flocking was selected to optimise the functionality and discretion of Convatec's new, modern-looking and feeling pouch design. Convatec has recently published Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations that help visualize how both magnitude and location, of the tension applied to the ostomy and its surrounding multi-layer tissue, change in accordance with the product selected.

It was clear how both tension location and convex depth are key contributors, working together with all convexity characteristics to achieve clinical stoma management goals. The FEA work is the foundation for the scientific and translational work Convatec is doing in ostomy care, and upon which research will be expanded to support clinicians and ostomates.