Coloplast Sensura Mio High-Output ostomy bags: Overview (w/ video)

If you’re a fan of the Coloplast SenSura Mio line and you have a high-output stoma, have I got something for you!

Video

Introduction

Coloplast surprised many of us with their SenSura Mio line.

The Mio’s featured better cloth material in a more neutral colour; an updated filter; several small, but useful changes; and it became an appliance that gets mentioned just about everywhere I look.

Recently, a marketing email from Coloplast caught my attention: High-output pouches were now available in the SenSura Mio line.

Because I wanted to tell you guys about these new products, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to request samples (and Coloplast is very good at sending samples).

That said, like previous articles and reviews on this site, this is not sponsored in any way.

Why These?

There are two main reasons why an ostomate might use an appliance like this:

• They find themselves waking up in the middle of the night to empty their appliance and they’d like to avoid that.
• They have a very active stoma that fills up regularly sized pouches too quickly.

These high-output bags can solve both of those problems, which is why this is such an exciting product to see.

In addition, there are other scenarios where I can see this being quite handy, especially if you’re a Sensura Mio user already:

• During bowel prep. If you’re asked to do a bowel prep, you may experience high-volume, liquid output. This would be the perfect appliance to wear during that time.
• After surgery. It’s unlikely that you’ll be given a product like this after your surgery. But if you can prepare ahead of time, or already have an ostomy and are going in for another procedure, this may also be useful to keep around.

How Big is Big?

Currently, the “large” SenSura Mio pouches, like large pouches from other brands, have a capacity of about 655ml.

That capacity is often more than enough for many ostomates, especially considering that most people are told to empty their appliance when it’s about 1/3 full anyway.

The new, high-output pouches have a capacity that goes up to over 1100ml depending on the style!

For length, we’re talking 12″ for the #18601 and similarly sized pouches when the outlet is folded up vs. 7.5″ for the Maxi size pouches (also with the outlet folded up).

Comparing the Old with the New

Whenever someone would ask what appliance they recommend for a high-output stoma, I would say the Coloplast SenSura Magnum.

The Magnum still is a recommended product, but the newer Mio pouches may appeal to more people for several different reasons.

Fabric

The Magnum pouches use a standard, beige cloth material that isn’t terrible, but it’s not great.

The Mio pouches feature a smooth, greyish material that looks modern and clean.

One of the benefits of the newer cloth material is that it repels water better than their previous fabric. That means, it will dry faster and won’t absorb water or sweat.

Filter

While it’s not printed on the pouch (as it is on the regular SenSura Mio pouches), I assume the filter on these high-output appliances use the “Circle Filter 430” because they pretty much look the same.

If you’re unaware of the filter system on the SenSura Mio, then it may come as a bit of a surprise as it features a large, circular pre-filter.

This pre-filter is supposed to slow down any output or liquid from reaching the charcoal filter at the top of the pouch.

I’ve had mixed results with it on their smaller pouches due to them clogging up, but I do notice that these high-output pouches seem to have some extra layers to prevent output from heading towards the top of the pouch; this may prove to be more effective at preserving the filter’s function.

As with other Coloplast pouches, you will need to put a filter sticker over the front opening of the filter on these pouches to prevent water (i.e. from a shower) from clogging it).

As of Jan, 2018, I don’t see any options to go with a filterless pouch.

Coupling Options

The SenSura Magnum pouches only came in the two-piece style with a mechanical coupling that fits on the SenSura Click wafer.

These newer pouches come in one-piece, two-piece with adhesive, and two-piece with mechanical couplings!

All of these options fit existing SenSura Mio wafers, which is a bonus if you already use SenSura Mio products.

Lots of options to choose from, although using the two-piece pouch allows you to swap the pouch for a smaller bag during the day or during intimacy.

Extra Features

Having a large capacity is only one part of the story and the Mio pouches have more to offer.

Inspection Window

One of my favorite features on opaque pouches are inspection windows.

The regular SenSura Mio products were the first by Coloplast to offer this feature and I’m glad to see it on these larger pouches.

Inspection windows can be helpful when putting on your appliance (especially one-piece systems) as they allow you better visibility and less guesswork when you align your appliance over your wafer.

Inspection windows are also handy when you need to give your stoma a peek to monitor health or the output in the appliance.

Special Drain

Unlike wide outlets, which may be difficult to empty liquid output without causing a mess, these high-output pouches feature a special “spigot” that allows you to control the flow as you empty it by squeezing the base of the outlet.

The outlets look similar to Coloplast’s urostomy bags, but the spout is larger on these high-output outlets because they are intended to drain stool from the pouch.

There are actually two styles available in these pouches:

• Wide-lumen/Hard Outlet, which works well in most cases.
• Soft outlet/Universal Connection, which can be attached to a night drainage bag if needed.

It suffices to say that these pouches are designed to handle liquid or loose output, so they are better suited to ileostomates and not recommended for colostomates.

Folding Drain

While the outlet on these pouches can hang down quite low, Coloplast allows you to tuck it neatly under the cloth material in a special slot they added.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s always nice to have the ability to shorten your appliance in certain situations.

Is it Right for You?

At the time of this writing (Jan 2018), these pouches seem to cost approx. two-times what the other Sensura Mio products costs, which is significantly higher (i.e CDN$14 / pouch).

The cost may be prohibitive for some people, especially those paying out of pocket. You may be able to extend the life of these if you only use them at night by rinsing and reusing your two-piece pouch, otherwise, these should last you about as long as other Sensura Mio products you may have already been using.

If you’ve woken up throughout the night to empty your appliance, I think it’s worth at least exploring this option.

And if you have a stoma that’s very active, these pouches may also benefit you.

For more information on these and other Coloplast products, please visit https://www.coloplast.ca in Canada. Contact your local Coloplast office to see if/when they will be available in your country.