Patient/caregiver was educated on complications with ileostomy as follows:
Blockage of stoma:
- Poorly chewed food with bigger chunks in swallowed portion can increase the risk for blockage of stoma in individuals with ileostomy.
- Individuals with stoma blockage could present with nausea, vomiting, swelling of stoma with discoloration, and swollen abdomen, thus precipitating an emergency.
- Chewing the food thoroughly to almost liquid consistency helps prevent risk for blockage of stoma.
- As chewing thoroughly involves some time, individuals with ileostomy must plan enough time on their schedule for meal and not rush through it.
Poor processing of fiber-rich foods:
- Individuals on ileostomy poorly process foods rich in fiber. Fiber rich foods can clog up the ileostomy resulting in severe abdominal pain.
- Fiber rich foods can also produce lot of gas, leading to symptoms of abdominal fullness and discomfort and necessitating the individual to frequently burp their bags.
- So, avoid or exercise caution with foods such as, brown rice, brown bread, green leafy vegetables, raw fruits with skin, raw vegetables with skin, and most of foods on the salad menu.
Stoma retraction:
- Occasionally the stoma can move inward and become smaller.
- This usually happens with individual gaining weight and deposition of some abdominal fat.
- Growth and contraction of scar tissue, as part of healing process, at the surgical (stoma) site can also lead to shrinkage and retraction of stoma.
- Retraction of stoma can make attachment of the bag difficult, resulting in leakage, skin irritation, and need for frequent bag change.
- Use of convex wafers, paste or seals to level out the point of retraction, with proper use of ileostomy belt can help address stoma retraction and reduce risk for stool leakage.
- Severe cases of stoma retraction might necessitate a revision surgery.
