A prolapsed stoma can be quite surprising and scary! But you shouldn’t panic, it’s not life-threatening in most cases. In a lot of instances, they’re treated without surgery. It’s common in some cases later on after the stoma forms. While prolapses occur in different kinds of ostomies, it’s commonly seen in the loop version. But we’ll discuss what happens, and some tips as well if it does. A prolapsed stoma of course is when it becomes way bigger than normal, sometimes extending much further outwards than it should.
Causes
The causes usually involve the muscles getting weak. Other reasons may involve the following:
Pregnancy
Lifting too heavy
Weight gain or obesity
When the abdominal muscles aren’t strong enough, this also causes the stoma to pop out, especially when you are moving about through the day. It can reoccur especially if you’ve prolapsed once. This if of course, due to the weakness that was created because of the abdominal pressure as well.
What to Do
The first thing is to not panic of course. But if it does happen, you should contact the stoma nurse. If it’s normal after surgery, then they’ll tell you how you can take care of this. If the prolapse is working normally and is a color that’s healthy or reddish, it means that it isn’t very concerning. However, you should get a ruler and monitor how big it is while you stand upright. You can then check it again and again as it gets bigger in size. As long as this does naturally reduce when resting or even lying down, it can be pushed into place gently, and it’s generally not a concern. You should worry if it’s purple or blackish, is painful, starts to ulcerate, or it doesn’t function period.
Does it Always Change Appearances
In most cases, it does, simply because it’s swelling and is bigger in size. However, you may want to cut the aperture size accordingly to prevent these leaks, the skin sores, and the ulceration that comes from this. The stoma nurse may show you techniques in order to apply your pouch without compromising how the adhesion fits, such as maybe putting a split on the paper that’s used to release and the like. They may also encourage you to use washers and seals to learn how to adapt your aperture of the pouch in order to protect the skin area, allowing for the prolapse to expand as needed.
If the prolapsed stoma fills the pouch you’re using, the stoma nurse may tell you about some special types of prolapsed pouches that are longer and bigger, so that the bottom of this won’t rub the end of it. It also may be good to consider a two-piece system to help with the flange as well, since that may be an option for some people, but it may be a little awkward. There is also a support garment for this that you can wear. You may also want to consider the “stoma shield” as a helpful action, but only if the prolapse is able to be reduced. You should be careful of support garments or lighter clothing, since it can cause trauma and reduce the blood supply to the stoma. You may want to possibly look into surgical intervention if the blood supply begins to be compromised, especially if there’s an obstruction that’s associated with your stoma, and if it affects the quality of your life. You may want to talk to your stoma surgeon in that case, since they may do something to help you.
