Dealing with Peristomal Hernia and Complications After Surgery

I have a colostomy since 2011. Always worn my ostomy bag hanging outside my underwear and never tucked in. Thru the years I've started to notice a protrusion on the peristomal area. I suppose because of the "pulling" caused by gravity. It got so painful I could not even walk. My surgeon concluded I had peristomal hernia. In the first place, do surgeons have the responsibility to tell their ostomy patients about the possibility of having a hernia in the future?  If my surgeon did, I would have worn a support belt right after my surgery to prevent this. 

I opted for surgery last January 17, was discharged after a week and re-admitted again for infection. I was on anti-biotic IV for 2 weeks. During my confinement, the ET nurse found out that I had a fistula adjacent to my stoma (maybe because of the hernia surgery). They started daily "packing" (draining) with the hope that it will close and heal in its own. I totally disagree because a wound will never heal when it is not exposed to air. My fistula is always covered when I put on my ostomy bag. There is still pain despite the hernia surgery. These events have caused me a great deal of stress and anxiety. Has anyone ever experienced this? My surgeon said if the fistula does not close and heal, stoma relocation will be the option (which he plans to do in July). 

Spice, don't worry about the wound being covered. It turns out that the bit about a wound needing exposure to air is not true. I have experienced it myself, recently too. My skin is very soft on my arms and hands because of so much sun damage and my age. About a week ago, my hyper Boston Terrier tore a small hole in my arm while he was playing. I cleaned it, put antibiotics on it, patted the skin into place, and put a large bandage on it, sealing the wound from air or additional damage. This morning I removed the bandage and the wound is healed. Your friend, Don.

Hello Sugar&Spice.

Thanks for this post which raises some interesting questions. I have often wondered who has responsibility for what in these situations as I was not warned by anyone about the possibility of getting a hernia. The medics all seem so preoccupied with the operation and what 'they' have to do, that they tend to forget that many people who find themselves in the operating theatre have no experience this type of thing prior to being thrown in at the deep end. Sometimes I feel that they assume that the patients know what they should and should not do in order to keep themselves safe from things like hernias post-op and so they do not think it is their role to advise on such issues. At other times, depending on my own mood,  I feel that it is just neglect, incompetence or laziness on their part that they don't bother to share what they know and take for granted. It makes me wonder how much money, resources, pain and frustration could be avoided if this information was given to every patient at  an appropriate time, when they could absorb it and follow the guidlines.

Best wishes

Bill 

I agree with Bll, but in a more concise version. Spice,  you need to get educated ASAP and it's not just by colostomates  Get off the web and start making contact with top medical teams.

if your current med team is stressful, and very possibly inefficient, which many of them are, LEAVE THEM

Get Out, Get Better!