Colostomy – Colon Removal Surgery

The colon is the large intestine that is the end of the digestive tract. Although it has nothing to do with the digestion, it collects the leftovers sent by the small intestine that absorbs the essential substances from the food and sends the watery residue to the colon. The colon

collects the necessary salts and water from this liquid, the rest forming the stool.

As long as the colon functions properly, everything is fine. The problem starts when a person gets older or starts with some colon related problems. The common problems that affect the colon are polyps, tumors, and diverticula. Here are a few common signs and symptom that a person with colon problem may experience:

Bleeding in the rectum area – This problem surfaces from the tumor that has cracked. Sometimes when the diverticulum corrodes with the nearby blood vessel, it starts bleeding. Never confuse this with a rectal bleeding.

Puncture in a particular point – When the diverticulum is inflammated or is under pressure, it ruptures. The bacteria in the colon seep out through this hole into the abdomen, which brings about infections and other problems. This is followed by nausea, vomiting, fever, and severe pain.

Difficult in passing stools – Constipation or sometimes diarrhea, rectal bleeding, gas and swollen abdomen are the effects of improper bowel movements caused by the inflamed or twisted diverticulum, polyps or tumors.

The doctor recommends for the removal of the colon or performs colostomy surgery when the patient suffers from intense diverticulitis problem, cancerous tumors, birth defects, Crohn’s disease or intestinal obstruction. During the colostomy surgery, either the colon or its parts are removed according to the severity of the condition.

Around 600,000 surgical processes are done in the US every year to treat this colon problem. Like all other surgeries, colon surgery is a conventional one and the laparoscopic is the less invasive type of surgery. The colon surgeries done are temporary or permanent. A temporary colostomy is done when a part of the colon is left to heal after the surgery. Once it heals, the colostomy is reversed making the bowel function normal. In permanent colostomy, the rectum is removed due to cancer. A large section of the colon is also removed and the left over portion is used to form a stoma.

There are different types of colostomies. They are the Ascending, Descending, and the Transverse. In the ascending type of colostomy, the surgery is done from the ascending colon in the right abdomen, but this type is very rare. The descending type of colostomy, as the name suggests, is done from the descending colon on the left abdomen and this is the common type of colostomy surgery. The transverse type of colostomy has two openings in the upper part of the abdomen, middle or right side and it is done from the transverse colon. It is also called the double barrel colostomy.

The survival rate of this colon removal is 85% but there are chances of the nearby organs being damaged during the surgery or even infections in the surrounding parts of the abdomen while surgery due to the contaminated bacteria from the colon.

| Abdominal Perineal Resection Surgery | Colostomy – Colon Removal Surgery | Sigmoid Resection Surgery | Stoma Reversal Surgery |

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