Hi Gutenberg-Mndwlkr here. Not a silly question at all! I've wrestled with this question for half a year now. I took a lot of care with my physique prior to my ileostomy; exercised at least 5 times a week for 1 1/2 or more hours of workouts consisting of aerobics, weights, swimming....you get the idea. Well, things have changed quite (including mentally) a bit as you may imagine. I've had to be opened up twice - the second time I forgot to tell the surgical team to install a zipper! I've been going to a GI guy and the surgeon who performed the operation originally. Here's my take: (A). They could probably put me together using mesh and so on, but it didn't take on the second op. I must mention, one of the reasons I was opened up the 2nd time was to repair the stitches that tore after the 1st op. So, if the stitches didn't hold the 1st time nor the 2nd, what's going to be so different on the 3rd? (B). As I have what is medically called a "gigantic wide-mouthed ventral hernia", I'm told there isn't a lot of protoplasm left to stitch together. The up-side so I am told, is because the hernia is so large, that the small intestine is not likely to get pinched as it would in a smaller hernia. Additionally, I'm not ready to go through the 12-16 weeks of recovery that is estimated.
So, my conclusion: I've decided to live with the hernia, and start doing some rehab work to strengthen the ab muscles the best I can. I'm also trying to get a hernia belt with a port for the ostomy bag to pass through. A few months ago, I felt that I didn't have anyone that I needed to impress (women), but I've since changed my mind. Guess that's why I'm on this website, huh? Good luck to you! Health and wisdom be with you. Mndwlkr.