Ostomy is a life saving and life changing event for anyone who needs to undergo this type of surgery. And while it offers someone a better chance at living a quality life, there are significant emotional and psychological downsides to the procedure. This is due to the nature and outcome of a ostomy as it requires a man made hole to come through the patient's stomach where human waste can exit the body into a pouch.
Ostomy is not more common with a certain age, race or ethnicity. It becomes a viable procedure when a patient's urinary tract and digestive system is malfunctioning. For some, this procedure can be temporary that allows for fast healing and recovery and for others, this is a more permanent procedure. These types of surgeries are susceptible become permanent if the end of the colon or rectum is riddled with disease.
The opening is called a stoma where a piece of the small or large bowel or ureter is used to create a channel between the belly and pouch. The most common causes of ostomy is inflammatory bowel disease, incontinence, diverticulitis, cancer, birth defects and the like.
Ostomy is a type of continent diversion surgery and while there different types of ostomies, there are four common ostomies that are leveraged today. The most popular type is called the Colostomy.
This is the most popular and well known ostomies out of the four types. A colostomy is when a portion of the colon or rectum are removed completely and the colon is redirected through the stomach wall. Like mentioned above, this can be a temporary or permanent fix, it all depends on how severe and advanced the patient's symptoms.
The most intricate type oy ostomy is the J-Pouch. The J-Pouch is a reservoir that is created with the patient's small intestine. Surgeons are able to surgically created this crater within the patient's body to redirect the the digestive tract and create a new functioning system. Based on the intricacy and nature of surgically creating a man made pouch, surgeons perform this ostomy in multiple steps.
Living with ostomy whether temporary or permanent does come with its own set of physically and emotional complications. Many patients that undergo this procedure have a higher chance of feeling self conscious given their own human waste is in a pouch on the outside of their body. Doctors focus not only on the physical rehabilitation of the surgery but also the physiological healing. Due to the nature of the surgery, doctors encourage their patients to express their concerns and fears. The healing process takes time and for some patients they have a hard time accepting their new set of circumstances. An ostomy gives a patient the at a new and improved life; however, there needs to be a revamped and new hygienic routine post surgery. The patient needs to make sure the stoma is clean and that waste is exiting the body properly through the hole into the pouch. With the pouch being externally attached to the patient's body, there needs to be mindfulness to keeping it flushed and secured to the belly.
There are support groups and therapists available to help patients and loved ones cope with these drastic changes. Just because there have been a few physical alterations, doesn't mean the patient needs to live a limited life. There are those that have had successful surgeries and have found ways to continue to grow and thrive despite their condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment