The Anti-Stomal Prolapse Device

The creation of intestinal stomas such as colostomies and ileostomies is a surgical method used to divert and evacuate waste content from areas in the bowel affected by cancer, obstruction, inflammation or infection. The creation of stoma is a necessary and useful procedure; however, it is a common occurrence for prolapse to occur in patients who live with stoma, causing them pain, discomfort, or further complications such as bowel edema, bleeding, stool leakage, and ischemia, which require medical intervention. While there are existing methods which serve to treat the prolapse, including manual and surgical reduction, both local and abdominal, there has yet to be a definitive solution that prevents prolapse from occurring and then recurring to begin with. For this reason, the novel Anti-Stomal Prolapse device has been designed, and is currently undergoing development and testing. It is an innovative, non-surgical, and minimally invasive solution which provides mechanical forces that prevents intussusception and telescoping of the bowel through the stoma. The device is a one piece design consisting of a semi-flexible silicon, placed in the intestinal lumen to damper peristaltic movement. The criteria for this device include the ability to withstand the peristaltic forces, not cause discomfort for the user, flexibility to allow insertion without compromising device integrity, and compatibility with a wide range of patient sizes. All of these have been met in the device's development, and there have been some preliminary tests conducted, including animal studies which prove the devices efficacy and potential in the real world.