Where Is the Colostomy Placed?
The colostomy – in other words, the new hole from your intestine to your skin – can be placed in various locations along your colon. Many colostomies in people who don’t have spinal cord injuries are done because of tumors, diseases, or damage in the colon. For them, the actual location of the new hole is determined by the problem – the hole needs to be placed before, or “upstream from” the troublesome area, so it can be bypassed. But this isn’t the case in people with SCIs who choose colostomies for more functional reasons. Where’s the best place for their new openings to be placed? There seems to be difference of opinion. Some health care professionals believe that a colostomy along the transverse colon is less prone to constipation and easier to manage. However, at least one study showed that colostomies in this area also may be more susceptible to a potentially serious complication – prolapse. A prolapse is a sagging, protrusion, or collapse of the colostomy opening itself. Because
