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Living with dignity after stoma surgery
Caring for a person with a stoma is also about helping them find peace and providing them emotional support.
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Moving forward, we need to talk more openly about stomas to help patients feel less isolated, writes a nurse.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Chong Joon Lan
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On a quiet April morning, in a busy hospital ward, the care team met Madam Lee for the first time. Just a few hours before this, she had undergone an emergency operation that would change her life forever.
The surgery on the large intestines left her not only with a sizeable abdominal wound but also a stoma, a surgically created opening in the abdomen to divert waste out of the body. This is done when the natural route is no longer possible, usually as a result of severe inflammation, tumour or injury of the colon. The stoma is by the cut end of the intestine, and waste is collected in a stoma bag or pouch attached to the skin.
