Tag Archives: colostomy

Will Your Colostomy Be Permanent?

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Many people who are about to undergo colostomy surgery may wonder if they have to live with this intestinal diversion for the rest of their lives. The most accurate answer to this question is “it depends”.

Here are a few things that you may want to know about having to live with a colostomy bag.

Ostomy reversal: who is the candidate?

The first prerequisite for ostomy reversal is the overall good health. It will be a surgical procedure that can leave quite an unpleasant impact on the body in general and the GI tract in specific.

The reversal of a colostomy also depends on why you had it in the first place. If you had to undergo a temporary colostomy procedure as part of the cancer treatment, you can go for its reversal when your colon recovers from the illness. The colostomy that you get in this regard most has a loop stoma, which is fairly easy to reverse.

A permanent colostomy is always an end colostomy, but certain types of end ostomies are reversible. The reversible end colostomies require a major operation that results in delayed postoperative recovery.

Alternatives to colostomy bags

You can discuss several options with your doctor regarding the right alternative to your colostomy pouch. Every option, except for the one resulting in a stoma on the belly, allows you to retain bowel continence. This way, you won’t need any pouch to manage your stool evacuations. The waste will store in an internal reservoir inside the abdomen. You are going to have to empty it several times a day.

Here are the alternatives to a traditional colostomy.

Kock pouch

The surgeon takes a part of the large and small bowel and makes a pouch that has to store waste contents coming into it through the small bowel. A small valve connects this reservoir to an opening in the abdomen. You will have to use a catheter to empty your Kock pouch.

J-pouch

A j-pouch is pretty similar to a Kock pouch, except for its connection with the anus. The surgeon creates this pouch by folding the end of the small bowel into itself. He then makes an incision at the bottom of the pouch to fit it over the anus. This option allows you to evacuate stools just as you have been doing before surgery. With this internal pouch, you will need to move your bowels within an hour after you feel an urge to go to the toilet.

BCIR

A BCIR, or Barnett Continent Intestinal Reservoir, may be an even better option as compared to a Kock pouch or a J-pouch. It is because of its ability to prevent leakage. The construction of a BCIR is pretty similar to that of a Kock pouch, but it uses a valve consisting of healing tissues. It enables the abdominal opening to be as resistive to leakage as sphincter muscles. A BCIR allows you to sleep throughout the night without worrying about the leakage.

What option suits you well depends on your health and preferences. You can discuss these options with your doctor.

Life of a Colostomy Patient – Lifestyle and Care

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It is quite evident that living a healthy and normal life is a state of happiness. No one wants an unhealthy lifestyle and any kind of disease in life. However, we cannot control the mishappenings and misfortunes. We may encounter some discomforts, hardships, and illnesses. It changes our normal life and lifestyle. Some diseases are responsible for the alteration of the entire organ, one of them is ostomy. In this surgery, a person changes the natural path of excretion. The patient will have a new organ (stoma) in the abdomen. The purpose is to discharge the stool and urine through this passage instead of the anus. Well, we have to embrace uncertainties in life. However, the good part of the ostomy is it enhances the quality of life of a patient. It does not bother you or bring drastic changes in the lifestyle of an ostomate.

The ostomy is the treatment of the large intestine and small intestine. A disease or defect in the digestive system drives patients towards ostomy. It has various kinds depending on the disease, for example, when there is an infection or chronic disease in the large intestine or colon, it needs colostomy when an infection erupts in the small intestine or ileum, it needs ileostomy, and the same is the case with bladder and rectum, a dysfunctioning of these organs need urostomy.

Colostomy

Globally, thousands of people are living a colostomy life. It means they have gone through the surgery of the colon. When there is a problem in the large intestine, like colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, intestinal obstruction, birth defects, and diverticulitis, a person needs the removal of an infected section of the colon or the entire large intestine. No doubt, it brings a few alterations and adjustments in the life of the ostomate, but there is nothing to fear about. It enhances the life quality of the patient. It removes the infection or disease permanently, and a patient can live a healthy life afterward. The only dramatic change is the appearance of the stoma in the abdomen. It is a circular, artificial opening for the collection of the stool. The primary objective of the stoma is to collect solid waste. It requires a bag or pouch to gather the feces.

The stoma does not have any other impact on the body and life of a colostomy patient. It only picks up the waste material from the colon and passes it into the ostomy pouch. It does not serve any other purpose. It works as anus in your body. However, it is an inorganic part of the body; therefore, you need to pay attention to its care, health, and hygiene. There is zilch additional you need to do with the opening and colostomy. It eradicates the effects of colon cancer, chronic disease in the large intestine, and dysfunctioning of the bowel or colon. Thus, it makes the life of a patient healthy and normal.

Lifestyle and Care

Patients assume that their life after the colostomy surgery is going to daunt them. However, when a patient is suffering from any kind of disease, either an infection or cancer in the digestive system or any other organ, life is tough for them. After the treatment of any kind of disease, patients welcome comfort and health in life.

Colostomy patients suppose that their lifestyle will get changed, and they will not serve their aim of life. No, this is just a myth regarding colon surgery. It only closes the anus and opens the stoma as a new organ of discharge. Moreover, like any other operation, a colostomy patient person needs some rest in the hospital right after the colostomy, and wait for the healing of the large intestine.

Once the colon and stoma get healed, a colostomy patient can join back the previous lifestyle, but with full care and according to the directions of the doctor and ET nurse.