About

An ostomy is a surgical procedure in which surgeons make a small artificial opening in the abdomen wall of the patient. Doctors make an opening for the excretion purpose. This an artificial process of discharging urine and stool from the body. The ostomy operation could be permanent or temporary. It depends on the disease. During the surgery, doctors remove a portion of a small intestine or a large intestine. Sometimes, doctors have to remove colon or bladder.

When a person suffers from any intestinal disease or colon cancer, the doctor performs a colostomy. When surgeons take out a portion of the colon or bladder, the natural process of discharging waste from the body gets disconnected. Therefore, a patient needs an artificial procedure for letting out the waste liquid and solid.

What is Stoma?

The stoma is a significant term in every ostomy surgery. Whenever doctors perform ostomy operation, they create a stoma in the belly of the patient. The purpose of the stoma is to discharge the waste matter of the body. A stoma is a small hole created by the doctors. Merely, we must say that your anus will not perform the duty anymore. From now on, the stoma will take over the responsibility of the natural excretion system. The intestine or bladder will attach to the stoma. Doctors disconnect the natural path of the infected bladder or colon and connect this to the artificial opening.

Once the surgeon completes the surgery, the waste matter of the body (urine or feces) will discharge through the stoma. The stoma will collect the solid or liquid in a stoma bag attached to the stoma skin. The stoma pouch will collect the feces or urine, it depends on the type of ostomy surgery. If you have an infected colon or large intestine, then you will have to discharge solid waste through the stoma. However, if you have any disease in the bladder, then you will have to release the waste liquid through the artificial opening.

Why and When a Person Needs an Ostomy?

When a person has any disease in his intestines or bladder, he may need ostomy surgery. Acute pain in colon or bladder can lead a patient towards the operation. Many patients have colon cancer, bladder cancer, Crohn’s disease, anal cancer, and IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), they need ostomy operation. For such patients, ostomy surgery is the only alternative treatment. Apart from the intestinal pathologies, a person who has an injury in the colon or bladder, he may need the surgery. The injury could be the result of an accident, stabbing, or puncture.

Formation of the Ostomy

Doctors construct ostomy in any of the below forms:

•   End Ostomy – it is one opening.
• Loop Ostomy – it is two openings.
•  Double Barrel – it is the complete dissection of the bowel.

Types of Ostomy

The following are the three types of ostomy surgery.

• Colostomy.
•  Ileostomy.
• Urostomy.

Colostomy Surgery

 When a patient has infected large intestine or colon, he/she may need a colostomy. Surgeons perform colostomy surgery as the result of colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or diverticulitis.

The word colostomy refers to the colon (large intestine). Therefore, if a person has cancer, injury, excruciating pain, or any other serious disease in the large intestine, then he needs colostomy. Doctors create the colostomy in the left abdomen of the patient.

Ileostomy Surgery

Ileostomy surgery refers to the disease of the small intestine (ileum). If there is any injury, acute pain, or cancer in the ileum, then a patient needs an ileostomy. Doctors perform surgery on the right side of the abdomen. It is created to discharge the loose feces from the body.

Urostomy Surgery

When a person has a disease in its bladder or the bladder cannot perform its functions, then a patient needs urostomy. In the operation, doctors remove or bypass the bladder. Urine then flows out through the stoma.