SOMAVAC® participated in the virtual FOCUS Conference organized by Essentially Women, connecting with the women’s health and post-mastectomy care community.
FOCUS brings together the providers who work with breast cancer patients after surgery: mastectomy fitters, DME and home care providers, and the women’s health specialists patients see in the weeks when recovery is hardest. Moving the meeting online meant the conversations reached a wider group of providers than a single venue would allow.
Why this community matters to us
These are the people patients actually turn to once they are home. They are the first to hear what recovery is really like, including the part of it that nobody had modernized. For decades, that has meant Jackson-Pratt bulb drains: hand-squeezed reservoirs that have to be stripped, emptied, and recorded several times a day, pinned to clothing, for weeks after surgery.
SOMAVAC® was built to change that part of the journey. It replaces the bulb with a small, battery-powered pump worn discreetly on a belt under clothing, delivering continuous, sensor-controlled suction at −100mmHg into the deep wound space. Fluid collects in a marked bag for non-touch disposal: no squeezing, no safety pins, no handling of fluid. In a prospective mastectomy study, patients had their drains removed up to 30% sooner.1
What we took away
Events like FOCUS are where we listen. The questions providers ask, about fitting, about what patients can manage on their own at home, about what actually reduces calls back to the office, shape how we build and how we support patients after surgery.
We’re grateful to Essentially Women for creating a space where that exchange can happen, and for their continued commitment to the women’s health community.
1. Data on file. Prospective mastectomy study, N=45, p=0.003.