Coban 2 layer compression system

KS, thank you! I have heard about this product but never seen it. I couldn't imagine how it could be cost-effective, since our short-stretch bandages are re-usable for long periods of time and this is a one-time wrap. But their claim on the website is that because it can be left on for four days at a time you only need to see the therapist twice a week, and that saves on the therapy costs. So no wonder 3M, which is a US company, is starting in Canada -- here most insurance won't pay for the wrapping supplies, but they will pay for therapy, so for US patients this would amount to a huge out-of-pocket expense.

My other question (which wasn't answered by anything I could find on the site or in the brochure) is about the Complete Decongestive Therapy itself, which includes the therapist doing MLD daily, not twice a week. So this sort of flies in the face of the gold standard of LE treatment. The one study I noted on the site was done with 20 people and no detectable control group, so this would seem to be an unproven modality at best.

Still,  it looks comfortable, yes?

I hope if some of our Canadian gals get to try this out they'll let us know how it works for them. Please?!

Be well,
Binney

I hate Coban.  Some lab techs (phlebotomists) use it instead of a band-aid to secure a wad of cotton over a venipuncture site.  It always leaves a grid imprint in my skin, no matter where it's put.  (I don't let anybody draw blood from my at-risk side, so the imprint is occurring on my good side.)

Plus, I hate how it feels.  It's like prickly elastic -- it adheres to itself.  No wonder it's promoted as "disposable single-use."  You can't reuse it most of the time.  Once it's stretched out enough to wrap around something and stick to itself, it's deformed permanently.  If you peel it off and try to re-wrap it, it won't wrap smoothly and won't stick anymore.

3M makes a product identical to Coban that they call "Vetrap".  It comes in oodles of colors, which pet owners like.  (They can have their dog's paw wrapped in their favorite school's colors.)

Ooooo...  Guess what I just found!  Vetrap even comes in hot pink!

Surely someone will see an obvious connection there...

Okay, I read the 3M "Coban 2-layer compression" brochure.  I understand that the product(s) used in this "system" might be different from the typical Coban/Vetrap used as an outside layer over an absorbent bandage.  I also saw that 3M is marketing this "2-layer system" for bandaging limbs etc. in people with wounds and other causes of swelling besides cancer-related LE.

I just wonder if it really works, and is really better than short-stretch bandages.   I've worked with 3M on new product development and testing.  They will jump at the chance to develop a new market for an existing product.  Is this one of those situations?

Color me cynical....

otter

Otter, doesn't Coban/vet wrap contain latex?

(And yes, my daughter was very fussy about what color we used on our horse....Since he died, I've used it when the dog hurt her dew claw.)

What struck me about the brochure was the push that it's cost effective to wrap a patient, and only have to seem them twice a week....

Add me to the cynical list, and I don't have your wealth of experience.

Kira

kira, I didn't know whether Coban contained latex or not, so I checked.  Turns out, the regular Coban is made out of rubber.  I found a 3M Material Safety Data Sheet on line that said Coban is 98% natural rubber. (It's a pdf file so I can't provide a link.)  One vendor warned that the "rubber latex" in Coban "may cause allergic reactions in some individuals":  Conney Safety Products - 3M Coban

OTOH, there is a latex-free version of Coban ( = 3M Coban LF):  http://www.shop3m.com/3m-self-adherent-wraps.html  According to the 3M website, the "Coban 2-layer compression system" uses the latex-free Coban:  http://www.3m.com/product/information/Coban-Compression-System.html .

otter

When I saw my therapist in May, she had just gotten back from a meeting of LE therapists.  She indicated that there is a movement to discredit portions of CDT, such as the MLD portion.  So perhaps 3M is trying to play that angle in their marketing efforts.

My plastic surgeon gave me coban when he saw how awful my hand looked wrapped with the white finger wraps.  It was a miracle product for me.  Three months of PT could not pull down the swelling in my hand (although the arm swelling was reduced).  It got so bad that when my glove finally came in, it was too small.  Because Coban allows for greater compression of the fingers and back of the hand, it successfully reduced the swelling almost overnight.  I can now fit into the original glove.  I would NOT want anyone else to wrap me because of the touriquet effect it can have when wrapped too tightly.  I did like that I could unwrap my hand to take a shower then rewrap with the same bandages.  However, I would not wear more than 2 days in a row.  The bandages just get dirty.  I would imagine it would be uncomfortable to use as an arm wrap. 

 I hope people can keep an open mind because although this isn't the answer for everyone, it might be for some.  Lymphodema sucks.  I found it more depressing than the BC because I thought I was almost through this battle once chemo was finished.  I wanted to go back to work with a great looking wig, new boobs and no outward signs of the illness. The best laid plans .... The magic of coban was that it lifted my spirits when I really needed some lifting.

Thanks for the link.  I'm surprised at how expensive it is.  Seems all they have to do is label something for medical use and the cost skyrockets.  But if it's a solution that works, that's great.