Patent ID: 7540861

Claim:
A colostomy bag assembly comprising: a wafer having an adhesive pad and an opening extending therethrough wherein the adhesive pad attaches to the skin of a patient so as to allow a stoma of the patient to extend through the opening; a securing mechanism formed on the wafer; a collection bag that couples to the securing mechanism so as to be secured to the wafer wherein the collection bag receives waste fluids from the stoma when secured to the wafer via the securing mechanism; a retaining member that has an opening sized to fit around the securing mechanism attached to the wafer such that the retaining member is interposed between the collection bag and the wafer wherein the retaining member is made of a flexible cloth material; a plurality of straps, the straps defining a belt, the straps being attached to the retaining member wherein the straps are positioned so as to be aligned with the opening in the retaining member and are sized to have a width substantially smaller than the diameter of the opening such that when the patient positions the retaining member in between the wafer and the collection bag and secure the straps to each other, the straps induce the retaining member to concentrate force in the regions immediately above and below the opening in the retaining member to thereby inhibit the wafer positioned underneath the retaining member from disengaging with the skin of the patient; wherein the width of each of the straps is approximately one half the diameter of the opening of the retaining member and the straps are substantially centered with respect to the opening; and wherein the retaining member has a central, generally rectangular section and two tapered sections, each tapered section being trapezoidal in shape, and wherein the straps are coupled to the ends of the two tapered sections respectively and wherein the width of the ends of the tapered sections is substantially approximate the width of the straps and wherein the shape of the tapered section results in greater force being exerted against the wafer by the central section as a result of tightening the belt.