How long temporary colostomy

A resection may or may not be done at this time. This is a procedure to reconnect the healthy ends of the colon to one another. A hole is cut in the abdominal wall, and a portion of the colon is placed into that hole, exiting just at the outer surface of the body.

Once the procedure has been completed, the patient will spend several days in the hospital. During this time, instruction will be given as to how to properly care for the temporary colostomy. The patient will be given information on the different types of colostomy pouches as well as adhesives and caps or covers for the stoma , the portion of the intestine now located on the surface of the body. Once home, recovery from the temporary colostomy procedure generally takes about six weeks.

After the reversal, bowel movements are eliminated through the rectum once again and the colostomy stoma is closed off using small metal staples that are then removed in the out patient department of the hospital a couple of weeks later. Throughout this time, you should be very much in control of your own stoma; take care for it, clean it and so forth.

You don't have to love it, but for the mean time, you should manage it well until its out of your system. Remember, when temporary colostomy is all over, you will turn back to these moments and just be happy you got it all over with.

A colostomy won't change the way your digestive system works. Normally, after you chew and swallow your food, it goes through your esophagus, or swallowing tube, into your stomach. From there, it travels to your small intestine and then to your large intestine, or colon. Hours or days later, the indigestible residue leaves the storage area of your rectum via your anus, as stool.

Stool typically stays loose and liquid during its passage through the upper colon. There, water is absorbed from it, so the stool gets firmer as it nears the rectum. The ascending colon goes up the right side of your body. The stool here is liquid and somewhat acidic, and it contains digestive enzymes. The transverse colon goes across your upper abdomen, and the descending and sigmoid colon go down the left side of your body to your rectum.

In the left colon, the stool becomes progressively less liquid, less acidic, and contains fewer enzymes. Where your colon is interrupted determines how irritating to the skin your stool output will be. The more liquid the stool, the more important it will be to protect your abdominal skin after a colostomy.

Getting a colostomy marks a big change in your life, but the surgery itself is uncomplicated. It will be performed under general anesthesia, so you will be unconscious and feel no pain. A colostomy may be done as open surgery, or laparoscopically, via several tiny cuts. As with any surgery, the main risks for anesthesia are breathing problems and poor reactions to medications.

A colostomy carries other surgical risks:. If possible, be sure to discuss your surgical and postsurgical options with a doctor and an ostomy nurse a nurse who is specially trained to help colostomy patients before surgery. It may also help to meet with an ostomy visitor. This is a volunteer who has had a colostomy and can help you understand how to live with one.

And, before or after your surgery, you may wish to attend an ostomy support group. Depending on why you need a colostomy, it will be made in one of 4 parts of the colon: ascending, transverse, descending, or sigmoid. A transverse colostomy is performed on the middle section of the colon, and the stoma will be somewhere across the upper abdomen. This type of surgery--often temporary--is typically performed for diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, blockage, injury or a birth defect.

In a transverse colostomy, the stool leaves the colon through the stoma before reaching the descending colon. Your stoma may have one or two openings. One opening is for stool. The second possible stoma is for the mucus that the resting part of your colon normally keeps producing.

If you have only one stoma, this mucus will pass through your rectum and anus. An ascending colostomy goes on the right side of your abdomen, leaving only a short part of the colon active. It is generally performed only when blockage or severe disease prevents a colostomy further along the colon.

A descending colostomy goes on the lower left side of the abdomen, while a sigmoid colostomy-- the most common type--is placed a few inches lower. You may be able to suck on ice chips on the same day as your surgery. You'll probably be given clear fluids the next day. Some people eat normally within two days after a colostomy.