All About a Colostomy

A colostomy is a type of surgery that creates an opening that’s called the stoma. This is something that goes from the large intestine towards the outside of the abdomen. This helps with solid waste and gas, leaving the body without going through the rectum. The waste is collected in a small pouch you wear outside the body.

The large intestine is made up of the rectum and the colon, and it is connected to your small intestine. The small intestine will digest and absorb the nutrients that are absorbed to the blood vessels, including your proteins, fats, carbs, and of course the rest of the food moves from there into the colon, which absorbs the water from that waste and stores it until you have your next bowel movement.

So why would you need a colostomy? Well, this is to bypass and remove a part of the lower intestine that’s there. that’s because the large intestine may be damaged and blocked, a part of the large intestine must be surgically removed in the event of cancer and the like, or there is a ruptured colon that causes and infection in the abdomen.  People with types of cancers that may be a part of that area might need a colostomy. Sometimes people being treated for ovarian, prostate, uterine, and cervical cancer might need it. Those with Crohn’s disease and UC, or even polyps that may be cancerous may need this.

How long does it need to happen? Well, sometimes they are temporary and only a few months, but most of the time they are permanent options for people.

You can get a few types of these. The most common one is the sigmoid colostomy, and this is usually where the bottom part of the colon moves to the rectum. This stool that’s made is far more solid than the rest of the colostomies.

You can get a transverse one too, and this one crosses near the top area of your abdomen. Stool in this is much more soft, and usually that’s because a small part of the colon has absorbed the water from the indigestible parts of this.  usually this has a few different versions.

Then there is the descending one that goes down the left side of the abdomen, and the stool there is much firmer because it moved through the parts of the colon which worked. Finally you have the ascending colostomy, which goes from the beginning of your large intestine over to the right side of the abdomen. In this, only part of the colon will work, so a little water is absorbed, and usually this is liquid.  Usually if this has to happen, you’ll get an ileostomy.

When you have this surgery, you will be given general anesthesia, and the surgeon will attach one part of your colon to your stoma, and then of course, a colostomy bag will be put over it.  You will learn how to take care of your stoma and change and empty the stoma pouch after you’ve woken up from surgery.

 

All About an Ileostomy

An ileostomy is a temporary or permanent stoma that happens near your ileum, which is of course the lowest portion of your small intestine. This helps the solid waste along with gas exit your body without going out to your rectum, and then it’s collected in a pouch.

If you’re curious, the small intestine is your small bowel, and this goes from the stomach to the large intestine. The large intestine is where your rectum and colon is. The small intestine will digest the nutrients that are there and absorb them directly into blood vessels. Usually fats, proteins, and carbs are all absorbed here. The rest of the food which can’t be digested will move into the colon. The colon then absorbs the water from your waste and stores them until the bowel movement is done.

You may get an ileostomy if you need to bypass or avoid a part of the large intestine because it is blocked or damaged. You may also do it if the large intestine needs to be removed.  It also will happen if you have a ruptured colon, which causes an abdominal infection. Certain cancers also may require and ileostomy, and if you have a pre-cancerous condition, that may require it.

Most people will only need it for a few months, and these are far less permanent than the other ostomies. However, for some it may be permanent.

You can get a standard ileostomy, which is called a Brooke ileostomy. This is where the small intestine is pulled through your right lower portion of the abdomen, and secured to outside skin, and you will have to wear a pouch to collect the stool which moves through there.

A continent ileostomy, which is one that doesn’t require you to wear a ostomy bag which collects. These create a pocket along with a valve near the end of the small intestine, and you will then use a catheter a few times a day to drain this.

Finally, you have the ileo-anal reservoir, which of course is called a pelvic pouch or a J-pouch. This is a pouch that’s created, and it’s connected to the anus, and stool can then be passed through there to the anus.

So when you get this surgery, it usually starts with a cut to the abdomen, or small incisions to help reduce pain and recovery time.  There are some risks though with this one.  You may have some bleeding int the small intestine from this.  it may cause damage to nearby organs, infection, problems with absorbing nutrients from your food, and some intestinal blockage from the scar tissue there.

Recovery from this can be up to 2 months, with people staying in the hospital for up to a week after the procedure. During this, you will have to limit what you want.

Usually, if you do have a temporary one, you will still have to wear pouches and such, but usually you will need a reversal and closure once the intestine has healed. The surgery can happen about 12 weeks after that.

Until then, you will have to wear an ileostomy bag and detach and learn to drain the waste, but that is simple once you learn how to do it.

 

All about a Urostomy

A urostomy is a surgery that involves making a stoma, but this time for your pee. This connects from the bladder to the outside of the abdomen. This allows for pee to leave your body without going through the bladder, and is connected in a pouch.

Your bladder is an organ that is balloon-shaped in your lower abdomen area that will collect and store the urine. This is filtered through kidneys through tubes that are called ureters. When you pee, your bladder muscles push it out through a tube that is called your urethra.

You may need an urostomy if you have bladder cancer. This is part of the removal of the bladder, which is part of the treatment.  That’s called a cystectomy.  Without bladder, the urine needs to be directed. This is one of the more common surgeries when treating bladder cancer. This might be used for uterine or cervical cancer as well. Those with serious bladder issues that are caused by birth defects or injury and surgery might need this. this is usually permanent and cant’ be revered.

You have two different types. The first is standard or conventional urostomy. This is when the surgeon removes a piece of the small intestine and then uses this to connect the ureters and the outside of the abdomen. The urine then flows through the new path which is called an ileal conduit, and then out the stoma, and it’s collected there.

Then there is the continent urostomy, which is same as the standard one, but the surgeon creates a pouch in order to hold it.  The pouch has valves on each end in order to keep the urine from going back into the kidneys and the linking through.  You insert a catheter into there a few times a day I order to drain the stoma and get the urine out.  You may also have one where the bowel is made into a pouch.

With an urostomy, you will be given general anesthesia, and after that, you will be under. Then, the surgeon makes an incision in the lower abdomen, and they remove a piece of the small intestine, and reattaches them together. Then they connect the ureter tubes outside the abdomen, and this is based on the urostomy. This can last anywhere from 3-5 hours.

Some surgeries may have some different risks include anesthesia problems, infection, blood clots and bleeding, injury or organs and body parts, intestinal blockage, and issues with bowel function.

You may have a longer surgery for about 3-5 hours, and of course you may need to stay in the hospital for a bit.  You also may have issues with eating solid foods, and of course be fed nutrients through tubes in the veins.  You will definitely have to limit physical activity, and learn to change your ostomy bag.

 

How to do things While Wearing an Ostomy bag

Ostomies are a kind of surgery which will leave you with an opening that’s is named a stoma. This is a way out from the abdominal cavity .Usually colostomies is a part of the colon, the ileostomy begins in your small intestine. They will help with getting solid waste to exit the body without passing through your rectum. A urostomy affects the bladder.  You will need to make a few changes when living with one of these, and here, we’ll discuss some of the different options that come with living with an ostomy.

You will need to first and foremost get some new products. You can have your nurse help you explain everything, and from there determine what’s right for you.

When it comes to clothing, you should be able to wear the same types before you had surgery. The pouches are designed to blend in and be close to the body there is also an odor barrier film that will trap the bad smell. The smell is only released when the pouch is emptied. You may want to get underwear and wraps which will hide your ostomy bag to make it easier.

You should be able to do the normal things you were beforehand. You can go to work, do sports, and also engage in sexual activity. Reasonable activity wont’ harm you. You may notice the tape loosen when you’re seating. In that case, you might want to get a pouch that’s specifically made for working out.

As for bathing, you’ll want to keep the skin that’s around there dry and clean. Don’t use products that contain alcohol because they’ll dry out the skin. Avoid products to takecare of your skin that are made of oil either, since that will make it hard to keep pouch sticked to a body. If you have hair or ostomy adjoining skin, you may want to consider shaving it to keep the pouch stuck to the body. Talk to the health care team to learn about different bathing issues that come with an ostomy.

Then there is diet. You may need to eat different foods.  You should avoid things which cause gas, including beans, legumes, onions, and spicy foods. Some that can’t be chewed well may cause cramping when going through the passageways, including nuts and corn.  You should also be aware of different things which cause constipation. If nothing else, you may want to keep yourself hydrated, especially if you have an ileostomy, since the stool is far more watery.

You will want to make sure that you empty the bag several times throughout the day, and keep it less than half full. This will prevent a leak or other issues that come from this.

Finally, during treatment, you may need to remove the pouch. The best thing to do is to talk to your team.

Living with an ostomy bag isn’t easy, but it is possible, and we went over how you can here, and some of the valuable tips to make the experience easier.