About That Leaky Ostomy Pouch

Mehaffey, Katherine

Katherine Mehaffey, BSN, RN, CWOCN^®, is RN Certified Specialist, Burn, Complex Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Service, Banner University Medical Center, Tucson, AZ.

MEDSURG Nursing 29(5):p 354, September-October 2020.

An ostomy pouch may leak for many reasons, but one common element is skin breakdown. Skin breakdown causes more leakage, in turn causing more skin breakdown. Breaking this cycle by treating the cause and treating the skin is the key to success.