Things You May Want To Know About Ileostomy

Before having ileostomy surgery, a few questions could arise in your minds regarding your GI tract’s ability to digest the foods you eat. In this article, we are going to talk about the food digestion, and also about the digestive tract’s response to the ileostomy surgery.

Information about your gastrointestinal (GI) system

Your GI system starts functioning when you eat and drink. The food enters the stomach through the esophagus. The enzymes present in the stomach break down the food to turn it into a liquid mix. This liquid mix then flows into the small intestine.

The small intestine is 20 feet in length. That is where the entire process of digestion happens. The small intestine absorbs all of the nutrients present in the food that comes from the stomach. After the nutrients are absorbed, the leftover waste, which is usually in the form of liquid stool, travels to the large intestine.

The primary function of the large intestine, or colon, is to absorb any water left in the waste while moving it towards the rectum. The waste keeps collecting in the colon until you have a bowel movement that creates an urge for waste excretion.

What is an ileostomy?

An ileostomy is a result of a surgical procedure that aims at diverting the small intestine from the colon to the abdominal wall, forming a stoma, which is an opening used by the intestinal tract to evacuate bodily waste. The part of the intestinal tract ahead of the stoma is either removed or bypassed.

A few facts about ileostomy, which you may want to know about, include the following.

• When you have an ileostomy, you will no longer be able to use your anus for waste excretion. Instead, the bodily waste will pass through the stoma.
• The principal function of the colon is to absorb water from the stool and store it until there is a bowel movement. Without the colon, your digestive system still retains its primary function of absorbing nutrients from the digested foods.
• Your stoma will not have sphincter muscles, meaning that you are not going to have any control over the excretion of your waste. That makes it necessary for you to wear an ostomy bag, which fits over the stoma. This bag will collect waste. You will have to empty or discard the ostomy bag when it’s full.

Depending on the reason for surgery, an ileostomy can be permanent or temporary. If there is cancer in your colon and your doctor finds it curable without removing the colon, you will get a temporary ileostomy. If the underlying condition is incurable, your doctor may have to remove the colon, resulting in the permanent ileostomy being the only option.