Switching from Colostomy to Ileostomy for Healing

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432
tnmontan9721
Oct 05, 2024 6:37 pm

Have a colostomy. Has anyone's surgeon told them that the surgeon will do an ileostomy after reconnecting the colon to the rectum? An ileostomy is to allow the reconnected area to heal. So, no more colostomy, but another new problem with the ileostomy for at least 3 months.

Stillhere61
Oct 05, 2024 10:20 pm

There is always the chance of a temporary ileostomy with all reversals. When they make the join, they test it for leaks with air pressure to check if it's all good. Any chance of a problem and you wake up with a temporary ileostomy. About 1 in 5 from memory before I had my reversal; that's what they told me anyway.

There was an Irish woman on here a while ago, and she was the 1 in 5. If you look back through the reversal posts, you should find it.

In fact, when I came to after my reversal, the first thing I did was reach down and check. I thought I felt an ileostomy bag and thought, "Oh well." But I was still pretty drugged up, and it was only my wound drain bag.

Good luck and remember it is only short term.

iMacG5

When I found this web site, I didn't think its name had anything to do with actually meeting an ostomate but I later learned there were some folks who did meet and develop relationships. How good is that? That wasn't my intention. I definitely didn't want anyone to meet me. I felt broken and wasn't prepared to express those feelings. I thought it was a place where ostomates wrote about themselves, posed questions, shared thoughts, told jokes and, sometimes, just vented. I thought of it as a community of folks with similar interests and various degrees of experience. Mostly I found some of the most caring, selfless, wise and understanding people I ever imagined. I was so impressed with some of the writings; not because of their literary value but the way in which they addressed such a very complex environment. I read hundreds of exchanges and admired the way folks cared for each other. I became hopeful with my own situation and looked forward to the next day's offerings. Certainly some contributors stood out with their experience or particular skills in addressing some things but it seemed like a total effort with synergistic results. I felt blessed to have found this site. I still do.
Mike

Past Member
Nov 14, 2024 9:42 pm

I had an ileostomy put in during reversal. Obviously not what I wanted but I have a great medical team and I know they did the right thing. Plan is in 3 months to finish the job.