Bowel Ostomy

 Digestive System With A Colostomy And Ileostomy

While many of us know how our digestive systems work, it is worth knowing about it if you have a colostomy or ileostomy. Getting some knowledge about the digestive system with a colostomy or ileostomy before surgery can help you understand what to expect after you have got a stoma.

Digestive system basics

The part of the body that digests foods and expels leftover wastes out is known as the digestive system, also known as the gastrointestinal tract. This system consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. Other organs connected to the digestive tract are the gallbladder, pancreas, and liver. These organs aid the digestion and absorption of foods and nutrients.

The entire body's health depends on how well the digestion system functions. Here is a quick overview of how the digestive system works.

• The process starts with eating foods. You chew your foods and swallow them. These chewed-down foods pass into the stomach through the esophagus. In the stomach, these foods are churned and mixed with gastric juices, which also include acids that break down those foods further.
• The digestion starts when the food is pushed into the small bowel, also known as the ileum. That is where most nutrients are absorbed and pass on to other body organs for further processing.
• The materials reaching the end of the small intestine are mostly wastes with a lot of moisture, electrolytes, and digestive enzymes. This material passes into the colon, where absorption of moisture, electrolytes, and digestive enzymes takes place. The colon keeps absorbing them from wastes until they reach the rectum, from where those wastes are pushed out.

The digestive system with a colostomy or ileostomy

Several digestive health conditions may result in your doctor choosing to give you a colostomy or ileostomy. These surgical diversions involve disconnecting the healthy part of the bowel from the diseased section and pulling the healthy end through a cut in the belly to create a stoma. It essentially means that the journey of foods and wastes through the digestive tract is cut short.

If you have a bowel condition that has resulted in your entire colon to stop functioning, your doctor may recommend an ileostomy. During ileostomy surgery, the surgeon will disconnect the small intestine from the colon and pull the end of the ileum through an opening in the belly. After surgery, you will pass out wastes through the stoma. Since an ileostomy bypasses the entire colon, the wastes passing out through it are watery and more corrosive to the skin due to the presence of digestive enzymes.

If there is a problem in the colon in a way that a part of the colon is healthy, your surgeon will separate this healthy segment from the diseased one. Then, he will pull the end of the end colon through the abdominal wall to create a stoma. This bowel diversion is known as a colostomy. Wastes passing out through a colostomy are more solid because you have got a part of the colon working.