What is a colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy?
A colostomy is formed during an operation where a portion of your large bowel called the colon is bought out onto the surface of your abdomen. The faecal ouput will be expelled into a bag stuck on your abdomen. If your colostomy is formed towards the end part of your colon the faecal output will be fairly firm (once your bowel has settled down after your operation). An ileostomy is formed during an operation in which the end of the small intestine, the ileum, is brought out through an opening in the abdomen. The contents of the intestine, unformed stool, are expelled through this opening into a bag called an appliance. A urostomy is formed during surgery to divert urine through a new passage and then through an opening in the abdomen. In a continent urostomy, the urine is stored inside the body and drained a few times a day through a tube placed into an opening called a stoma. An incontinent urostomy requires a bag to be stuck over the stoma for the urine to pass into it.
