A stoma is an opening in the body that allows fecal matter to pass through. A stoma can be formed by surgery or develop naturally over time. You need to know three aspects of stoma surgery before going under the knife: a stoma’s size, its location, and what type of stoma it will be.
Size
The first aspect is the size of a stoma. This refers to how many centimeters wide your stoma will open up into the toilet bowl if it is surgically created, with 10 centimeters being average for most people who have had their colon removed from their bodies as part of the surgical procedure.
Location
The second aspect is where the location of your stoma will be on your body- whether they are located on the right or left side of your abdomen, on the back, above your stoma, below it, etc.
Type
The third aspect is what type of stoma you will have- either an end stoma or a loop stoma. An end stoma can be cut out in its entirety and removed from patients’ bodies during surgery, while a loop stoma is not removable due to being too close to other organs inside their abdomens.
To conclude, stoma surgery is a life-saving procedure for many people that want to get their lives back on track after having their colon removed. There are three main aspects to stomas surgery- the location, type, and how it will be attached to your body. Hopefully, this article provides you with some more insight into stomas surgery!