A stoma is an opening in your belly that your surgeon creates to help you get rid of bodily wastes when your rectum is unfit for the job.
You might get a stoma if you have to undergo surgery to remove or bypass a part of your colon. This surgery is known as a colostomy. During this surgery, the surgeon brings a part of your colon out through a cut in the belly. As a result, bowel movements will leave your body through the stoma instead of the anus. You will have to wear an ostomy bag over the stoma to manage waste evacuations.
Your healthcare team will educate you on how to change your ostomy bag and how to take care of your stoma to prevent future complications.
Reasons you may need a stoma
You might need a stoma for a few reasons including a blockage in the bowel, Crohn’s disease, cancer, injury, and diverticulitis.
Sometimes, doctors perform colostomy surgery to give the damaged part of the bowel time to heal. In such cases, the stoma created is usually temporary. It may remain there for a few weeks or months, depending on the severity of your disease.
Once the damaged part of the bowel is recovered, the surgeon will reverse your stoma during another surgical procedure known as stoma reversal. However, you may need to have the stoma for life if a large part of your bowel is removed.
What happens during colostomy surgery?
During surgery, your surgeon will remove the damaged or diseased part of your colon. Then, they will bring the healthy part of the colon out through a cut in the belly to create a stoma. It will reroute the passage of wastes away from the damaged part of the colon.
After the procedure, you will have to stay in the hospital for a few days. While in the hospital, an ostomy nurse will educate you about the ostomy pouch and the process to empty or change it when it’s full. The nursing staff will also teach you some peristomal skin care practices.
Caring for your stoma
You will need to empty or change your ostomy pouch a few times a day. The best practice is to change it when it is one-third to half full to prevent leakages. Remember, a leakage exposes your peristomal skin to contact with the stomal output. This contact can result in skin irritation.
While changing your ostomy pouch, you have to peel off the skin barrier without letting your skin gets damaged. After removing the skin barrier, clean your peristomal skin with warm water and pat it dry.
Possible complications
The most common complication of a stoma is skin irritation, which tends to happen around the stoma. The best way to avoid this complication is to wash and dry your skin.
During the first few days, the stoma will be dark red. It will get lighter over time. However, you have to contact your doctor if the dark red color remains persistent.
Since there are a lot of blood vessels in the stoma, it can bleed even with a gentle rub. This bleeding, however, is quite short-term and should subside within a few minutes.
