Dealing with Painful Stoma Fissure Post-Surgery

Hi, I'm 9 weeks post-surgery. I had a Hickman procedure and have a stomach requiring convex bags. At the beginning, my stomach was quite far in, and a number of the stitches came adrift in the first few days. I've now gained around 6 kg (I'd lost 14 kg prior to surgery), which has pushed the stoma out slightly, but I now have a small hole where feces comes out - not always, but it's extremely painful. The stoma nurse thinks it may be a fissure but hadn't suggested what, if anything, is to be done - any suggestions? I'm not restricting what I eat.

You need to see your surgeon ASAP. I'm not happy with your stoma nurse either. She should have provided some advice. Maybe you can get another one?

I'm actually back with her on Wednesday, but now I'm worried as I've had total confidence in what they've told me until now. It's so painful, though; it's like a knife (no exaggeration).

Do you mean your stoma is small, or is there a hole in the side of your stoma? My stoma became very stenotic (narrow) and was causing issues even when I was restricting what I ate.

I don't think this is something you've done wrong. Don't let it sap your confidence.

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My stomach is small and I have or seem to have another smaller hole to the side. I can't actually see the hole but see how my poop comes from there and it hurts. I have emailed my nurse, and they usually see me the same or next day (bank holiday here today). It's gotten more painful the past week, but I had the small hole in the hospital - she proved it and could feel it at the bottom, so I have no idea how it's coming from there now, to be honest. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I've been so confident and have had loads of problems either with pancaking and literally blowing my bag off to the horrible nappy rash that's been so raw it bled. All normal to the community but new to me and so distressing. I have a huge output too, and so I change my bag maybe 4 to 5 times a day (also, as I have an inny, the thought of the poop just sitting in the convex is gross. I know I have to get used to it but can't seem to just ignore it. Plus, I have skin that gets sore if the feces sits in it for any length of time.

I hear you! I have an innie also and have just tried the Eakin thing that everyone on here seems to recommend. I was given a sample of the Eakin Cohesive Ring and just put it on the irritated skin last night. I was happy to discover that I could shape it to my not only convex but oval stoma. I was worried that I'd cut the hole in the bag too big and it wouldn't help, but it does seem to be helping. I've just ordered some Eakin Cohesive Slim since the samples I got did seem rather thick and might push the bag off. The final test will be when I take it off for my surgery follow-up tomorrow. My comfort level has definitely improved with it on so far, but it's only since last night. It does seem to be protecting my poor skin!

How did things go?

Hi, I went back to see my stoma nurse, and she stuck some sort of probe in (I'm afraid I couldn't look; I can barely look at it to care for it, let alone watch her probe, lol). She said there is a tiny hole to the side, but it's not even half a Q-tip head and not to worry as the skin around is good, with no hardness. Tbh, since she had a poke around, it's not been as painful 🤦🏼‍♀️. I think I overthink every little thing still.

Hope it heals quickly for you.

Is it the stoma you can't bear to look at, or the little hole?