Can ileostomy be reversed

After your surgery, foods may affect you differently. Certain foods may make you have bowel movements right after you eat them. Certain foods may cause diarrhea loose or watery bowel movements. You may need to change your diet after your surgery. It may be helpful to keep a food diary.

This will help you keep track of which foods cause discomfort. It may be helpful to take a dietary supplement or medication to help your bowel function after surgery. Fiber will help you by:. You may also need to take a probiotic supplement. Taking probiotics may help your bowels work better. Ask your healthcare provider for recommendations. This may help decrease the feeling that you need to go right away and may cut down on your number of bowel movements.

Your healthcare provider will tell you how much to take and how often to take it. Doing aerobic exercise, such as walking and stair climbing, will help you gain strength and feel better. Walk at least 2 to 3 times a day for 15 to 20 minutes for the first 2 weeks after surgery. You can walk outside or indoors at your local mall or shopping center. Ask your healthcare provider before starting more demanding exercises.

Recovery time is different for each person. Increase your activities each day as much as you can. Always balance activity periods with rest periods. This will help you hold in your bowel movements until you get to a toilet and prevent accidental stool leakage incontinence after your ileostomy is closed.

Ask your healthcare provider when to start doing Kegel exercises. Starting too soon after surgery can be painful. You can start driving again 2 weeks after your surgery. You can ride in a car as a passenger at any time after you leave the hospital. Talk with your healthcare provider about your job and when it may be safe for you to start working again. If your job involves lots of movement or heavy lifting, you may need to stay out a little longer than if you sit at a desk.

Your first appointment after your surgery will be 1 to 3 weeks after you leave the hospital. You can call your healthcare provider if you have questions between these appointments.

After surgery for a serious illness, you may have new and upsetting feelings. Many people say they felt weepy, sad, worried, nervous, irritable, and angry at one time or another. You can also reach them by calling After pm , during the weekend, and on holidays, call and ask to speak to the person on call for your healthcare provider. This section has a list of support services that may help you get ready for your surgery and recover safely.

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Access-A-Ride web. Air Charity Network www. Cancer and Careers www. Cancer Care www. Cancer Support Community www. Caregiver Action Network www. Corporate Angel Network www. Good Days www. Healthwell Foundation www. Look Good Feel Better Program www. National Cancer Institute www. The area that had been divided to form the stoma is then stitched back together and placed back inside the abdomen.

It's also sometimes possible to reverse an end ileostomy if most of the large intestine colon has been sealed and left inside the abdomen. But the surgeon will need to make a larger incision to locate and reattach the small and large intestines. It therefore takes longer to recover from this type of surgery, and there's a greater risk of complications. Most people are well enough to leave hospital within 3 to 5 days of having ileostomy reversal surgery.

While you recover, you may have diarrhoea and need to go to the toilet more often than normal. It can take a few weeks for these problems to settle. An ileostomy is the result of a surgical procedure that creates an opening in the abdominal wall. Stool then exits through this opening instead of leaving the rectum. Some people have permanent ileostomies, but others may be eligible for an ileostomy reversal. Colorectal cancer and abdominal trauma are two reasons why a surgeon might create an ileostomy.

The ileostomy reduces the risk of bowel leakage into the abdominal cavity, which is potentially life threatening, following surgery. This article describes the ileostomy reversal procedure in more detail, including the possible complications and some recovery tips that may help a person after the surgery.

An ileostomy reversal procedure usually takes about 40 minutes and involves the following steps:. A surgeon should discuss the expected approach with the person before surgery and provide them with information on the likely recovery time and possible complications. Learn what happens during an ileostomy here. The timing of an ileostomy reversal post-surgery can depend on several factors.

These may include:. However, the study did not find an increased incidence of complications in people with early stoma closure compared with those with late stoma closure. A study reported increased complication rates among people who had a gap of more than 6 months between their initial surgery and ileostomy reversal. Complications that a person may experience after ileostomy reversal surgery include :. A person should contact their doctor if they notice any of the following symptoms, which can indicate leaks, obstructions, or infection.

Symptoms that may suggest a leak or obstruction include :. Sometimes, the fluid in the abdomen can become infected. A person should call their doctor after surgery if they experience any of the following symptoms:. After ileostomy reversal surgery, a person will wait for the surgical incision and ileostomy closure site to heal. Ileostomy reversal surgery usually has a shorter recovery time than the surgery that created the ileostomy. However, a person may need to spend 3—4 days in the hospital.

A person should be aware that it will take time after surgery for their usual bowel movements to return.