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Stomas
A Stoma is where the bowel is passed through the abdominal wall to create an opening of the bowel through which feaces can pass out of the body and into a bag for disposal. This is created by the surgeon either as a tempoary measure to rest and "defunction" the part of the bowel that has been operated to enable it to heal or as a permanent fixture if it is not possible to conect the bowel to a functioning rectum and anus.
There are many different types of stoma that may be created and may be tempoary or permanent depending on circumstances. An Ileostomy is where the final part of the small bowel is brought to the surface. It may be a terminal ileostomy whereby the bowel finishes there or it may be a loop ileostomy where the bowel continues past the ileostomy to the large bowel, rectum and anus. A Colostomy is where the large bowel is brought to the surface to form the stoma and
Having a stoma can take a large amount of getting used to as it is a major alteration of body image and as such you will recieve support from the specialist team both whilst in hospital and on discharge. You may also like to look at the following websites for more information.
Colostomy Association - A small charity concentrating on providing support to people with stomas.
The Ileostomy and Internal Pouch Support group - A network of support groups for people with ileostomies. It is a useful website to explore and to get in touch with other people about living with an ileostomy.
United Ostomy Associations of America - An American organisation with a large amount of information on living with a stoma.
NHS Direct - Information on having an ileostomy.
NHS Direct - Information on having a colostomy.
Addenbrooke's Hospital - Question and answer factsheet on loop ileostomies from a teaching hospital in Cambridge.
The Cancer Council - An Australian cancer charity with infomation on sexuality with a stoma.