What Are Different Stoma Complications

The number of people with permanent or temporary stomas has hit the one million mark in the US. A stoma is a surgically created opening in the abdomen to allow fecal materials or urine to leave the body, bypassing the diseased section of the tract.

There is no sensory nerve in the stoma, meaning that you are not going to feel any pain in it. Yet complications can arise in it. A stoma will remain delicate as long as you have it, so you will need to follow necessary measures to ensure prevention against complications and infections that can arise in the stoma and the skin around it.

A healthy stoma is generally pink and moist. Immediately after surgery, the stoma will have swelling, which will subside in the next few weeks. Your nurse will teach you how to take care of your stoma and the skin around it. He or she will also tell you about the right pouching system that you may use.

In this article, we will discuss several stoma complications and the ways you can prevent those.

Parastomal hernia

This hernia occurs in the area around the stoma, usually in the peristomal skin. It happens due to the weakness of muscle tissues under the abdominal skin. The bowel or intestines push through the muscle tissues, forming a noticeable bulge in the peristomal skin area. It can surround the stoma from all sides, forming a circumferential hernia, or it might appear only in a particular area.

In many cases, the hernia is painful, and it might compromise the seal between the ostomy appliance’s skin barrier and the peristomal skin. In some cases, it may not cause any issue. Your doctor may recommend conservative therapy to treat the problem. An adjustment to the pouching system may also be beneficial.

You may want to use a hernia support belt to prevent parastomal hernia. Avoid using convex skin barriers if you have this hernia. If you irrigate your ostomy, you may want to discontinue it until you get rid of your hernia.

Trauma

Trauma in the stoma may occur due to an injury. Most typically, the cause of this trauma is a laceration. Lacerations can occur as a result of the use of clothes and appliances that interfere with the stoma. A too-small or misaligned opening in the flange can result in a laceration on the surface of the stoma.

Signs of trauma on the stoma include bleeding, stoma discoloration, and a visible cut. This complication resolves without any intervention, provided that you eliminate the root cause. For instance, you may need to be careful while creating an opening in the flange if the trauma is due to a wrongly configured skin barrier.

Stoma prolapse

The displacement of the stoma from its proper position can result in the stoma prolapse. It happens due to the intussusception of the proximal segment of the bowel, resulting in it sliding through the stoma’s orifice.

The most common reason for stoma prolapsing is the intra-abdominal pressure. A conservative approach to resolving this issue would be the healthcare provider’s priority. If that doesn’t work, the doctor may have to refer the case to the surgeon.