Gel Filled Seat Cushions(i.e. Jay)

[max bench]

I just spent 2 and a half months in the hospital and a additional 3 weeks in bed because of a pressure sore caused by my wheelchair seat cushion.

The gel on the left side of the Jay cushion got hard, I guess I am partly to blame because I didn't notice this until it was too late but in my defense this is my first sore in 4 years of being in a wheelchair so I am much more educated now.

The sore itself went clear to the bone. They shaved some bone off and did a muscle flap and it has healed up well. The scary part was that it got infected with a antibiotic resistant bacteria. I spent 6 weeks with an IV hooked to me and was a ton of meds,,, no one could come in and visit me unless they were gowned, masked and gloved.

Watch your back sides folks, hospital food is awful.

[farm mom]

How often should they be replaced? My son has one he sits on everyday that is 18 mos old. Is it time to look at a new one? It doesn't seem like a good idea to wait until it is too late. Thanks

[SCI-Nurse]

Your cushion should be re-evaluated annually as part of your annual check-up. Most Jay cushions need replacement every 2-3 years. Roho may last as long as 5 years with good care, but generally also last about 2-3 years. Covers may also need to be replaced. Foam cushions generally should be replaced every 6 months.

Keep in mind though that no cushion replaces regularly and religiously performed weight shifts and self skin inspection twice daily (morning and night) will catch a red area or an early stage ulcer before it gets to the point of requiring surgery. Staying off it at that point can prevent a lot of problems. (KLD)

[Curt Leatherbee]

Take care of yourself and thanx for the warning, I just checked my Jay today, appears to be ok, it is about a year old. Curtis

[max bench]

Best that I can tell, my Jay cushion was good for at least 3 years but during the third year I was not on it everyday because my new powerchair has a Roho Quatro and I was in it alot over the past year.

I am getting a Roho Quatro high profile for my manual chair and the Jay gel is going in the trash.

My main concern is lack of information, nobody told us that these cushions had a certain life span,,,, something that the rehab centers should cover.

[Sarah Mueller]

Max, do you have any metal (pins, plates or rods) in your system? The reason I am asking is because I do and I developed a serious infection in my leg. The infection, I was told, was caused by going to the dentist without being pre-medicated. Even though the dentist uses a suction device when scraping your teeth, not all of the particles are removed. Some enter the blood stream and can adhere to metal surfaces causing osteomyelitis.

Ten years ago I had a Roho cushion on my manual chair. I'd never had a skin breakdown before then and as it turned out I didn't have one then, either. I noticed a "cut" on the back of my left leg when I was getting dressed that didn't look so great. I had my mother look at it (I was 14 at the time) and we went to the doctor. He told me it was a skin breakdown but Mom and I knew that it wasn't. On the second Sunday of October, 1991 (Canadian Thanksgiving), I developed all the symptoms of appendicitis (nausea, vomiting, pain on the right side, fever). I went to the hospital and they admitted me. The next day, they were going to release me but my fever spiked again. I'd been seeing a plastic surgeon for the lesion on my leg in Toronto and I lived in Scarborough so we got a second opinion while I was in the hospital for what we thought was appendicitis. The plastic surgeon in Scarborough looked at the back of my leg, put his hand in the hole and said "This kid is going to surgery." It turns out that I had osteomyelitis (an infection in my bone). I had surgery to remove as much of the damaged bone as possible and was confined to a Clinitron (ceramic bead-filled bed) for seven weeks with IV antibiotics for the entire time.

What does this have to do with seating, you may ask? My Roho cushion had a crack in the plastic base and my skin got pinched. If it wasn't for the crack in the base and the pinch, we wouldn't have found the osteomyelitis in time to save my leg.

[Lizbv]

Your Jay Cushion has a warranty of 24 month, (2yrs) so I'd get one then, but bug insurance ppl b4 that date. I make sure my gel is massaged in the morning b4 getting in it, just to make sure its not hard. i sat on a homemade 4' foam w hardboard U cutout for several yrs w no problems so it was hard for me to get used to the jay2 deep countour i have now. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[martha]

Sarah, your comment about the dentist was interesting. My husband doesn't have rods or pins from his SCI, but he does have a titanium knee that's about 9 yrs. old. In the beginning, we were also told that he should take antibiotics for several days prior to dental appts, etc. but in recent years have been told this is no longer necessary for some reason. I'm curious if Dr. Wise or SCI Nurses have an opinion on this????? As always, thanks.

martha