Ileostomy vs. Colostomy: What’s the Difference?
Ileostomy vs. Colostomy: What’s the Difference?
There are different types of ostomy surgery depending on your medical condition, including ileostomy and colostomy. While the two are similar in some ways, these procedures involve different parts of the bowel. Ostomy surgery is also referred to as bowel diversion. This procedure is designed to reroute the removal of the intestinal contents from the bowel. A patient may require an ileostomy or colostomy when disease or other damage requires part of the bowel to be removed.
During ostomy surgery, the surgeon brings part of the intestine through the walls of the patient’s abdomen. Therefore, waste will no longer exit through the anus, but rather the abdominal wall. Surgeons will create a stoma during the surgery, which produces an opening where the patient can attach an external collection pouch for the waste, also known as an ostomy pouch. Keep reading to learn about the difference between an ileostomy and colostomy.
What is an Ileostomy?
An ileostomy consists of rerouting part of the patient’s ileum to come out of an opening in the abdomen. When this new opening is created, waste will be able to exit through the new stoma rather than the anus. In case you’re not familiar with these terms, let’s back up a bit. The ileum is the last part of your small intestine, which helps digest food and absorb water and nutrients.
Depending on your condition and reason for the surgery, an ileostomy may be temporary or permanent. While this can seem like an intimidating procedure, some patients feel better upon learning that ileostomies are the most common type of temporary bowel diversion. A few common reasons for an ileostomy include surgery for diverticulitis, colorectal cancer surgery, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis.
What is a Colostomy?
A colostomy, on the other hand, reroutes part of the patient’s large intestine, also known as the colon. This is the last part of your gastrointestinal tract. It absorbs any remaining nutrients and water from the food that passes through it to help form a stool. The surgeon will attach part of your colon to an opening in your abdomen. The diversion of the colon lets waste pass through the newly created stoma.
Similar to an ileostomy, a colostomy may be temporary or permanent. Certain diseases or injuries may damage your colon and require a colostomy. This is beneficial when the colon needs time to heal from disease or injury as the colostomy will divert stool away from it. Some common reasons for a colostomy include irritable bowel disease (IBD), cancer, diverticulitis, and so on.
If you need more information, contact Mark Drug Medical Supply in Wheeling, IL, today! We also serve Chicago and the North Shore area. Our team looks forward to assisting you.
