McDuff are you still using the Maxpro (Vicair) cushion

[Jeff B]

McDuff (or anyone else using these cushions),

How has the cushion held up?

Any long term skin problems or other issues?

Have you had any problems cleaning this cushion?

Any other comments?

http://www.independencenow.com/maxpro/index.html

http://www.vicair.com/

[McDuff]

Jeff,

No, I stopped using it and went to Roho. I was continually fighting red spots and finally developed a stage2 sore.

No matter what I did adjustment wise, it would not work for me. I went to Roho, spend more time in the chair and have no skin problems.

I like the idea of it, but it didn't pan out for me.

[Jeff B]

Damn, I am supposed to be trialing the Vicair Adjuster 10 (4") soon and was hoping to hear you say something good about it. I have been using a roho quatro but it is unable to correct for my right hips external rotation. The Vicair looks like it should be able to give good pressure relief and by leaving more cells in the right rear chamber help with the hip rotation.

I will still try it and see how it goes. Everyone is different so it might work for me, but I am a little more wary now.

Were the red spots and/or sore from the little individual cell inserts marking you, or were you bottoming out?

How long did you use the cushion before skin problems became evident?

Also, were you using a standard 3" maxpro or a 4" maxpro deep?

[McDuff]

I would definitely say it is worth a try, like you say everybody is different.

My hips/butt tend to lean left, so I would compensate by adding extra packs in the left rear compartment to level me out. I wound up with the sore on that side(left isch) so not sure if having more packets was a culprit or not. But even after I removed the extras it still gave me trouble.

The red marks were centered on the isch's and would radiate out from there depending on my length of time in the chair. I was not "truly" bottoming out, but was bottomed out "in the packets". I got a real bony ass, didn't have any meat when AB, so that doesn't help either.

When I first got it, I was pressure mapped and was all blue and greens. If memory serves me, it was right at a year when I was mapped again and it was orange and red around my isch's, nothing I could do to make it go away. I am sure loss of mass had a lot to do with it, this was early on, but maybe the packets didn't give as much, hell I don't know.

I think I was using the 4", I will check later, I keep it out in the van as a spare in case I have a Roho blowout.

I really hope it works out for ya, like I said it seems like a good idea. Gotta work for somebody.

[Jeff B]

I find it concerning that it originally pressure mapped fine but later changed, even with weight loss. One of the positive features of these cushions is that once you get it set up you don't have to keep adjusting it like a roho.

My weight is stable but I do have pointy ischials.

When you say that you bottomed out "in the packets" do you mean that you still had the recommended two layers of packets/cells between your bottom and the wheelchair sling but that the cells did not give enough for pressure distribution?

Did you sink into the cushion or did the cells just form a mat that you sat on? They are supposed to slide easily around each other so that it molds to your body and you sink in a bit to spread out the pressure but if they don't work as they claim then it would be like sitting on a worn out (flat) foam cusion.

[McDuff]

Hmmm, not sure how you would ever tell you had 2 packets under you.

I was checked by a PT, my wife, my brother, and of course myself. Everyone said they could not feel my boney's at the bottom of the cushion, there was "cushioning" in between. I guess it is possible I had too many packets under me but don't think so. Maybe having too many would be like airing a Roho too much.

I definitely sank into the cushion, you could always tell where my isch's were hitting when I transferred out. So, I guess I really don't know why it did not work out for me. But I would say it "sat harder" than my Roho does now. I have partial sensation as well as some neuro pain,and after a few hours up, my butt would be on fire. I can go much longer in the Roho(4" Quadtro; oh yeah my MaxPro was also 4").

Still hope it works for ya.