About

A surgical opening in the abdominal skin to allow an internal surgical diversion to evacuate bodily waste through it is known as a stoma. Top reasons that make it necessary for a person to undergo ostomy or stoma surgery include bowel disease, cancer, and familial disorder.

There are three types of ostomy: ileostomy, colostomy, and urostomy.

Ileostomy and colostomy

An ostomy created to divert the intestinal tract from its diseased part is either an ileostomy or a colostomy. Reasons you might need a colostomy or ileostomy may include:

• Blockage or damage
• A raptured colon
• Needing the colon or a part of it removed

Patients suffering from colorectal cancer may need an ileostomy or colostomy. Any cancer in the intestines may result in the likelihood of an ostomy.

The good thing about ostomies created as a part of cancer treatment is that most of them are temporary. Doctors create those ostomies to allow small or large bowel to heal. After those parts of the intestines recover, the patient needs to undergo another surgical process to get the ostomy reversed.

Urostomy

Some conditions may lead a patient needing his bladder removed. This situation leads a surgeon to give the patient a urostomy to divert ureters towards the stoma. Women suffering from cervical cancer may also need a urostomy.

Can I live a normal life with an ostomy?

Your ostomy should not stop you from living a normal life. You can work, travel, exercise, and eat anything that you want.

Will I be able to return to work?

You can perform most jobs with an ostomy. Nevertheless, you may have to avoid doing any task that involves lifting heavy objects as that can cause stoma to herniate or prolapse. The best approach is to tell your employer about your condition as soon as you get back to work.

Can I shower?

Water is not harmful to your stoma, so you can shower with or without your ostomy bag. However, it is recommended to take a bath with the ostomy pouch. You may use soap to clean the skin around the stoma, but make sure to rinse the skin afterward to avoid having any residue there since it can interfere with the skin barrier’s ability to adhere to the peristomal skin.

Can I eat what I want?

You are going to have to follow some food restrictions for a few weeks after ostomy surgery. As soon as your body adapts to the intestinal diversion, you can get back to your pre-surgery diet. Nonetheless, you will need to make sure that you are not eating anything that can cause blockage or any other issues that can be harmful to your ostomy.