Living with a colostomy bag can be a frightening prospect for many. The ostomy team at UVA Health explains the steps of care that an ostomy patient undergoes before returning to a life without limitations.

Read one patient’s story at https://blog.uvahealth.com/2018/09/12...

Transcript:

Traci Hedrick, MD: When patients hear that they're going to have a colostomy, it's obviously a very frightening concept. But what I'd like to tell the patients is that it takes about two weeks for them to become experts, and then they know infinitely more about it than I do.

A colostomy is basically a portion of the colon on the skin that is covered with a bag. Most hospitals have a wound ostomy team, and they are the unsung heroes of the hospital.

Mesha Jones, RN: We all bring something different to the team because we all have different experiences. Part of the wound care team at UVA may be different from other facilities because we collaborate with lots of different teams within the hospital. We offer physical therapy and nutrition to make sure that the patient has everything they need before they're discharged home.

Elizabeth Gouchenor, NP: We have a class that we have for patients before their surgery. We educate them during the hospitalization until they go home.

Charles Friel, MD: The most common thing that people say to me after I've created a colostomy is, "It's not as bad as I thought I was going to be."

Once we correct a good functioning stoma and you work with your stoma team, you can have a system that works incredibly well. You should be able to live the same life that you're living without a stoma. So there really shouldn't be any longterm limitations.

Jones: Common myths and facts about ostomies are that, “My life stops and everyone will know that I have an ostomy bag.”

One thing that I like to tell patients that no one needs to know you have an ostomy bag unless you tell them. You can be as active as you'd like to be.

Life still goes on.