Ostomy

Dr. Deirdre Hart, colon and rectal surgeon, discusses ostomies.


What is an ostomy?

An ostomy, or a stoma, is where the bowel is brought out through your abdominal wall and you pass your excrement into a bag on your abdomen. There are two main types of ostomies: a colostomy, which is colon or large intestine; and an ileostomy, which is small intestine. The reason you might need an ostomy varies. It may be that you had an emergency surgery in which it was unsafe to put the two ends of your intestine back together. It may be that you had a cancer. An ostomy may be temporary until something heals and then can be reversed through an additional surgery, or it may be permanent. There are a lot of people who you know including athletes, famous people, and everyday people in your life who have stomas and you never know it.

How does an ostomy affect quality of life?

Having an ostomy doesn't keep you from living your life. You can golf. You can swim. You can do whatever you want with an ostomy. There's different clothing and things to help keep it from being obvious.