About

A surgical procedure that involves the removal of the bladder and the creation of a new way for urine to leave the body is known as urostomy surgery. You may need a urostomy if your bladder doesn’t work as it should, or it needs to be removed due to an illness, such as bladder cancer. This surgical procedure also involves resection of a small segment of the ileum. This segment works as a medium to connect ureters to the outside of the body. Because the segment of the ileum is not big enough to qualify as a reservoir, and it doesn’t have any sphincters, you are going to have to wear an ostomy bag over the ileum’s opening, also known as the stoma. This ostomy bag or pouch collects urine.

What to expect after urostomy surgery

The initial recovery phase after surgery can of 3-5 days, depending on the patient’s ability to heal. You will need to remain hospitalized throughout this recovery phase.

• After surgery, you may need pain medications and antibiotics to manage pains and infections.
• Your nurse will help you walk around in the hospital to prevent blood clots.
• There may be a bit of blood in urine passing out through the stoma, but it will get better over time.
• During your hospital stay, a urostomy specialist will train you on how to care for your stoma. He will also give you instructions regarding emptying and changing the ostomy pouch.
• There may be some mucus in the urine, but it shouldn’t be a reason to worry.

Caring for your urostomy at home

• You will need to learn to care for your urostomy after surgery. For this purpose, it is necessary to take care of the stoma and the skin around it. You do not want any complication or infection to occur in the stoma or the peristomal skin, because it will not only be painful, but it will also compromise the seal between the skin barrier and the peristomal skin.
• You may need to limit your activities for 2-3 weeks after surgery because it is the time when your body recovers from surgery and adapts to the urinary diversion. You may not want to lift anything heavy until your doctor approves. Your doctor will tell you when to resume your routine activities.
• You will need to be specifically careful about your liquid intake. Ask your doctor or ostomy care nurse to learn how much liquid you need to drink daily.
• You may want to carry extra urostomy supplies anywhere you go, especially when you are traveling abroad. You do not know whether you will be able to get your supplies at the place you are traveling, so it will be ideal to have more supplies than what you need.

Finally, you will need to stay in touch with your doctor or ostomy care nurse. They will answer your concerns and will provide you medical attention when needed.