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Intestinal ostomy is a feared term for the ones who know little about it. It is a surgical procedure that aims at producing an opening in the belly to evacuate bodily wastes after diverting them away from their natural excretory pathway. The location of this diversion depends on the location of the infection. The surgeon will want to give you an ostomy when he finds out that there is no way to treat your underlying condition other than an ostomy. An ostomy has been found to improve the condition of almost all patients because their pre-surgery condition was so debilitating.
What is an intestinal ostomy?
What is an intestinal ostomy?
An intestinal ostomy is an artificially created opening in the belly that allows an end of the bowel to stick out to expel body wastes. The surgeon will choose to create this ostomy if there is an underlying condition in the bowel so severe that it becomes necessary to disconnect the diseased segment from the healthy GI tract.
An intestinal ostomy gets its name based on where it is created. There are two basic types of intestinal ostomies: an ileostomy and colostomy.
A colostomy is when an illness infects a part of the colon. The surgeon will disconnect the diseased segment of the colon from the healthy segment, and bring the end of the healthy segment out through an incision in the belly to create a stoma. Because this ostomy retains some length of the colon, the waste material passed out through the stoma is more firm.
An ileostomy involves the removal or resting of the entire colon. The surgeon then brings the end of the small intestine out through a small cut in the belly to create a stoma. The stool passing out through an ileostomy is more watery because it doesn’t retain the large intestine at all.
No matter what kind of intestinal ostomy you have, you will need to wear an ostomy bag over the stoma to manage stool evacuations. Alternatively, you can have a Kock pouch, which is an alternative to the ileostomy. The surgeon creates an internal pouch using intestinal tissues, eliminating the need to wear an external pouch. The valve that connects this pouch to the abdominal opening is self-healing and remains closed. It doesn’t allow waste content to flow out of the pouch. You are going to need to use a catheter to empty this pouch.
Impact on life
Impact on life
An intestinal ostomy can have an impact on your life. Yet, you can live an active and healthy life. You will undoubtedly need to wear an ostomy bag the entire time, and there will be a significant change in your toilet routine, but you can manage these things well to avoid any unpleasantness.
A significant requirement here is to make sure that the skin around your stoma is healthy. It will allow your ostomy appliances to stick well, preventing any risk of leakage, which can cause irritation in the long-term.
There are going to be some dietary changes, but you will be able to return to your favorite diet routine in a few weeks when your bowel recovers from surgery. For more information in this regard, you may want to contact your doctor or ostomy care nurse.
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