Tag Archives: urostomy

A Brief Note On Urostomy Complications

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The chance of complications with a newly created urinary diversion is rare, but they can still arise. In this article, we will talk about the most common complications that might occur after urostomy surgery.

What is a urostomy?

The creation of an opening in the belly to allow urine to pass out after removal of the bladder is known as urostomy surgery. To create this opening, the surgeon resects a piece of the small intestine. It is usually 6 inches long. One end of that piece is sewn. The surgeon attaches the ureters to that end. The other end appears on the belly, creating the stoma.

Urinary diversion surgery

An alternative to a urostomy is the continent pouch, which involves the creation of an internal pouch that stores urine. This pouch has a valve that passes urine either to the outside of the body through the abdominal wall, or to the urethra, activating the natural urinary pathway again. With a continent pouch, you are not going to have to wear an ostomy pouch on your belly. Instead, you will need to insert a catheter into the opening in the belly to remove urine from the internal pouch. Types of continent pouches include an Indiana pouch and a Kock pouch.

What to expect after surgery

You will need to stay in the hospital after surgery for 5-7 days. This hospital stay is crucial because there is a risk of blood clotting in the surgery site. This blood clotting can cause severe complications, which might even be life-threatening.

After surgery, you may have swelling in your genitals, and there might be some discharge from the urethra. You may also experience constipation, diarrhea, soreness, and pain. All these are normal.

You may shower three days after surgery, but make sure to avoid using soap. Clean your incision with water. If the incision turns redder or drains pus, contact your doctor immediately.

Urostomy complications

Here is a list of a few complications that might arise with a continent pouch. These complications are not quite worrisome and subside over time.

  • You may experience some leakage of urine. It is because the internal pouch is not big enough to hold a large volume of urine. Over time, it will get bigger, and the issue of leakage will settle.
  • The opening in your belly may discharge thick mucus. Because the opening is made of the intestine, its living tissues still generate mucus.
  • There may be some swelling in the stoma after surgery, but its size will reduce over time.

Some issues can be worrisome.

  • The urine turning light pink is the sign of bleeding. It is generally due to the irritation caused by the catheter. The body will adapt to catheterization over time, and the bleeding will settle. However, you may have to contact your doctor immediately if the bleeding is heavy.
  • You will need to contact your healthcare provider if the urine is dark, cloudy, and foul-smelling.
  • Watch out for bulging and pain in the abdomen.
  • Contact your doctor immediately if the stoma becomes dry, protrudes, sinks, or changes shape.

Most of these issues should subside over time, but you have to have the right information to prevent these common complications from getting out of control.

Things To Know About Bladder Surgery With An Ileal Conduit

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In this article, we will talk about what you can expect from bladder surgery with an ileal conduit at different stages of the treatment.

About surgery

The urinary system consists of two kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Kidneys filter the blood to remove waste materials from it. These waste materials, in the form of urine, reach the bladder through the ureters. When the bladder is full, we feel the urge to urinate. The bladder expels urine through the urethra.

In some cases, your doctor may want to remove your bladder. The surgical process involved in this removal is known as a radical cystectomy. This surgery also involves the removal of some lymph nodes near the bladder.

Other organs that your surgeon may have to remove during surgery include the prostate, seminal vessels, urethra, and a part of the vasa deferentia. In women, the organs removed may include the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and a part of the vagina. The purpose of the removal of all these organs is generally to remove cancer cells.

Creating an ileal conduit

After removing the bladder, the surgeon will create a new pathway for urine to pass out. This pathway is known as a urostomy. The most common procedure that surgeons follow is the ileal conduit.

The ileal conduit is made of a small piece of the ileum. The surgeon will attach ureters to one end of this conduit, and pass the other end through an incision in the belly to create a stoma. As a result, this conduit will start serving as an alternative to the bladder. The ureters will pass urine into the conduit from where it will pass out of the body through the stoma.

This surgery generally takes 3 to 6 hours. It may get longer if you have severe medical conditions. After removing the bladder and creating the diversion using the ileal conduit, the surgeon will close the larger incision in the belly and suture the sides of the incision.

After surgery

The initial postoperative recovery takes 3 to 5 days. During this recovery phase, you will need to stay in the hospital. The doctor and the surgical staff will monitor you closely to make sure that you are doing well after surgery. They will allow you to go back home when they are confident that your surgery is a success.

An ostomy care nurse will visit you at home to make sure that you are recovering well. They will also teach you the ways to care for your urostomy. This urostomy care mainly involves the use of the ostomy pouch and taking care of the peristomal skin health. There will be a pain in the wound for a few days after surgery, but you can manage it through medication. You can talk to your doctor about the medication that you can take.

Due to the removal of a piece of the small intestine, you may face issues like diarrhea or constipation. These complications will subside over time, but you are going to have to make some changes in your diet and other activities to ensure early recovery.