Vented ostomy pouch and self-closing valve therefor

摘要

An ostomy pouch is disclosed in which a flexible, shape-recoverable plastic dome (25) is secured internally to a wall of the pouch over a vent opening (14). A peripheral portion (28) of the dome spaced from the apex is provided with at least one slit (30) therethrough traversing a radially and axially extending plane of the dome. The slit is curved or arched towards the apex and defines outer and inner lips (31,32) that normally have their opposing edges in juxtaposition to restrain the escape of gases from the pouch but permit such escape in quantity when the apical portion of the dome is depressed (by axially squeezing the dome). The lips advantageously have bevelled opposing surfaces (31a,32a) with the surface of the outer lip generally facing towards the vent opening (14) and that of the inner lip generally facing away from the vent opening. A stop element (26) projects from the apical portion within the dome and is engageable with a deodorizing gas filter (15) located at the base of the dome to limit the extent of deformation of the dome, and to prevent occlusion of the filter by the reverted apical portion of the dome, when the dome is pressed inwardly to open the valve.