Medical Grade Leptospermum Honey in Ostomy Closure Sites to Decrease Healing Time and Pain

Medical Grade Leptospermum Honey in Ostomy Closure Sites to Decrease Healing Time and Pain

Purpose:   Ostomy reversal is considered a contaminated surgery and, therefore, preventing infection is an important goal post-operatively (4). Many surgeons continue to order wet-to-dry dressings or choose to leave the stoma site open to air.  Scarring of this wound can be unsightly to the patient and wet-to-dry dressings can be painful, cause exogenous bacteria to enter the wound, and can be costly when done multiple times a day (1).  Medical grade honey promotes moist wound healing, debrides slough tissue, reduces inflammation and stimulates the immune system (2). The purpose of this study was to find an alternative to wet-to-dry dressings in ostomy closure sites to decrease healing, wound pain and reduce scarring.

Subjects and settings: Five stoma closure site patients participated in this study in a large urban acute care facility.

Methods:  Case studies of these patients were done using medical grade leptospermum honey as a topical dressing for patients with ostomy closure sites. Honey alginate and honey gel were used in the stoma closure site, either, applying directly onto wound bed or on a secondary dressing, and changed at a frequency dependent on drainage characteristics dictated by the wound. The wound was assessed with each dressing change. Periwound skin was assessed for maceration and the wound bed was assessed for granulation tissue, wound exudate, pain and wound measurements.

Results: The stoma closure sites healed without infection, managed wound exudate, provided pain relief and minimal scarring.

Conclusion:  The use of medical grade honey on ostomy closure take down sites provides moist wound healing environment and was effective in the management of wound infection and debridement of devitalized tissue (3) including - no pain, no adherence to wound bed, was economically appropriate for these patients.