Caring for patients with enteric fistulas is no small task. Fistula care demands clinical skill, compassion, creativity, and above all, a deep commitment to protecting patients from complications like skin breakdown and infection. These daily challenges are met head-on by dedicated wound and ostomy care clinicians, nurses, and providers who embody the best of patient-centered care.
At Fistula Solution, we believe these caregivers are heroes. That’s why our tools and resources are designed to support their efforts—making complex fistula management more manageable, more effective, and more rewarding.
Let’s explore four common challenges in skin and sepsis management—and how purpose-built solutions can help you keep patients safer and more comfortable.
1. Moving Beyond Familiar Supplies
The Challenge:
Ostomy barriers and makeshift materials are often used because they’re readily available. But in fistula care, they can fall short—leading to leaks, skin damage, and increased infection risk.
A Better Way:
Choose devices designed specifically for fistulas. Tools like the Wound Crown, Fistula Funnel, and Isolator Strip are engineered to contain effluent, protect delicate skin, and promote healing from the start.
2. Prioritizing Effluent Isolation Early
The Challenge:
Escaping effluent can soak dressings and macerate surrounding skin, opening the door to irritation and infection—especially with high-output fistulas.
A Better Way:
Use containment-focused devices from the beginning. The Wound Crown and Fistula Funnel direct output into pouching systems, helping maintain a clean environment and protecting the skin you work so hard to preserve.
3. Tailoring Tools to the Patient
The Challenge:
Every fistula is unique. Yet many clinicians are left adapting general supplies to fit highly individualized anatomy and output patterns.
A Better Way:
Customize your approach with tools designed for different clinical needs:
- Wound Crown: Ideal for small-bowel fistulas and ileostomies
- Fistula Funnel: Great for isolating output near wound edges or in tight spaces
- Isolator Strip: Effective for large, irregular wounds or multiple fistulas
Matching the right device to the situation leads to better containment, improved skin protection, and more predictable results.
4. Building Confidence Through Education
The Challenge:
Even the best devices won’t work if clinicians aren’t supported with training and guidance. Without it, technique issues can lead to frustration and setbacks.
A Better Way:
Empower yourself and your team with the Fistula Solution Knowledge Center. It’s full of real-world videos, application tips, and how-to guides—all created by clinicians, for clinicians. Because the more confident you are, the more confident your patients can be.
You Are the Solution
Every fistula patient deserves expert, compassionate care—and that starts with you. By focusing on Skin protection and Sepsis prevention—the first “S” in the SNAP fistula management framework—you’re improving lives every day.
Fistula Solution is here to support your work with the tools and knowledge you need to deliver extraordinary care.
Explore our full line of devices and training materials in the Knowledge Center.
Want a deeper dive into the SNAP approach?
Check out this insightful literature review:
Enterocutaneous Fistula: Proven Strategies and Updates (Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery)
It highlights the power of effluent containment, skin protection, and individualized treatment—principles at the heart of everything we do.