Cut-to-Fit, Moldable, or Pre-Cut Ostomy Appliances

In the first few weeks/months after you have ostomy surgery your ostomy will change size, and it’s important to measure your stoma each time you change your appliance to make sure you’re cutting a hole in the baseplate that isn’t too big or too small. The best way to do this is with a cut-to-fit baseplate, which comes in a couple different sizes based on the approximate measurement of your stoma. Your nurse will be able to help you figure out what size to start with. Once you have your baseplate, you measure your stoma with the measuring guide that comes with your order, and then you can trace the size you measured onto the baseplate so you have a guide for cutting the right size hole.

The biggest benefit to cut-to-fit baseplates is that they are fully customizable. The biggest disadvantage is that you have to measure and cut them each time (or eyeball it).

Baseplates with moldable technology allow you to mold the little hole in the baseplate to become a bigger size that fits around your stoma. Depending on the brand, you do this by rolling or pulling the material to stretch the hole. Once you fit the baseplate around your stoma, it absorbs some of the warmth and moisture and snuggles up to your stoma to create a good seal. Some people have described this as turtlenecking the stoma.

The benefits to moldable technology is that you don’t need scissors and it auto-adjusts to fit your stoma snuggy even if you don’t have it stretched out perfectly. This is also handy if you have a mushroom shaped stoma (larger farther away from your body, smaller at the base) because you can stretch it to fit around the big part and then it will shrink to fit around the base. A nurse advised me not to use this kind of baseplate until my stitches were healed and dissolved, though I’ve heard mixed-comments about this from other nurses. It’s best to get an opinion from your nurse.

Eventually your ostomy will settle down and pick a size. Once this happens, it’s less important to measure EVERY time you change your appliance and you have the option to order pre-cut baseplates that are already the size of your stoma. This may only be an option for people with round stomas, but it’s worth asking about regardless of your stoma shape if it’s something you’re interested in.

The disadvantage to pre-cut baseplates is if your stoma shrinks for any reason, they won’t fit. If you use a pre-cut baseplate, you might want to keep some cut-to-fit or moldable systems on hand, just in case.