Stoma Retraction

Stoma retraction

       The information that one might find on the Internet on stoma retraction seems to be quite different from the one found in medical treaties. The reason behind this discrepancy in stoma retraction explanations is simple: there is more then one stoma retraction. Basically, the one that everyone knows about is the stoma retraction that happens when something goes wrong with your surgery.

        For example, if the abdominal wall has collapsed in on itself, then a stoma retraction will happen. What happens, in plain terms, is that the stoma bundle falls through the enlarged hole and goes back, at least partly, in the abdominal cavity. The patient should be able to feel this complication and needs to report to the emergency room immediately.

        The stoma retraction that the medical books speak of is of a different kind and it is a good sign. If the part of the intestine that is attached to the stoma opening is very swollen at the moment of the surgical procedure, then the stoma might be larger then it is strictly necessary. Thus, when the swell disappears, a sort of stoma retraction appears. Unfortunately, in this case, the stoma retraction must be followed by a stoma revision.