Help with short stoma

Is your new stoma permanent? No chance of moving it back over, or revising it, to make it longer? I wish I had some advice- my stoma is too long, if anything. Looks sort of odd, but works like a charm. So the convex wafers don't seem to be helping? huh... definitely try to get in to see another WOCN- they seem to have all sort of tricks up their sleeves! Did you use the same surgeon, for the initial surgery & the latter one? If so, you'd think they would know to make it long enough. Good luck!!!

Thanks, Tracy. I will call you soon -- much appreciated.

I didn't mention in this post, but the surgeon who did my other three surgeries moved in December, so I met the new surgeon a few minutes before she put me under. Last night I emailed her asking why my stoma was so short and whether it was possible to get it revised to make it longer. She had a nurse practitioner call me back this morning, something I really appreciated. Was on my way out the door, but talked for a few minutes, and she said that the reason my stoma is so short is because I was obstructed when she operated, and sometimes when the swelling goes down from the obstruction, it retracts the stoma. She said to keep working with the nurses, but if we can't figure something out, to come back and talk to her about a surgical fix.

I feel quite relieved, and I realized that almost the most stressful part of this was feeling like maybe the surgeon thought a stoma like this one was OK .... so would be starting over to get help. It's felt a little hard to be a grownup with her because I met her when I was in a johnny about to be put under and she saved my life..... so I was weirdly afraid of speaking up (not a general trait for me), having trouble letting in anything besides gratitude.

It also makes a lot of sense that it'd be hard to make a good stoma from bowel that had spent the previous 24 hours being strangled. Now it feels like a problem that makes sense and that I have people to help me tackle....

Thanks for your responses..... appreciate not being alone with this issue.....

Thanks, Enigma. I am doing a lot better now. Wearing an ostomy belt seems to be the thing that's helping the most. I'm also being careful not to let my output get really thick -- when I had the last leaks I had eaten a big bowl of cherries earlier in the day (which I knew was probably a bad idea, but they were so good....) I'm also starting to lose weight ... not sure whether that's making a difference, but it's making me feel better.

Hope you're well.

I think a barrier ring helps with leaking and healing the skin, but in the case of a short stoma, it can also make it shorter. The ring is usually 2mm+ and if your stoma is short, having something that pushes the flange 2mm off the skin can make the stoma stick out less. So if you can manage the skin with powder and barrier wipes/cream (apply it multiple times), probably better not to lift the wafer by placing a ring - really depends how long the stoma is. If it's under a quarter inch, i can't see a ring helping :(. Stomas can also be longer and shorter throughout the day so even if you just placed the flange and it looks perfect, the stoma can recess a little and output can go under the wafer, and with a ring, it can recess to look like it's shorter than the flange. I think the best appliances for this are hollister convex and convatec convex moldable (both are flexible fabric and help the skin in my case). Salts is also great and I can use that in a flat because it's very flexible and thin but it's difficult to get in the US.

I also change often to make sure nothing is going under but I am starting to get more confident so I can change less often. In our case, it's better to change more if you're worried about output under - output on the skin is the worst thing for us. When you find something that works, you can switch less often and the skin should really heal!!

I have never had a good stoma so I can't relate to that. Just this short one since day 1. That was not long ago so I am still learning

Blueglass, I have a very short stoma, probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch. When I first came home from the hospital, it was even shorter, and the opening was right at skin level and pointed down. I had a lot of trouble with leaks, stuff going under the wafer instead of into the bag, blowing the wafer right off. After a few weeks, I was switched to a convex wafer, which helped a lot, but still nearly every change was precipitated by a leak. After 8 months, I went to an ostomy clinic, and it was recommended that I switch to a precut, rather than a cut to fit, as cutting reduced the amount of convexity. This substantially reduced the number of leaks, though I still had quite a lot of output under the wafer when I removed it. Usually by day 5 it would be visible under the tape. Luckily my skin seems to be relatively tough.

Now here's the weird thing: over Christmas I ran out of Eakin seals, and my supplier had none in stock. Instantly, I went to a steady 6 days of wear, with minimal output just around the very edge of the stoma. Since then, I use only the flange, the bag, and Cavilon. I have had only 1 leak since Christmas, caused by the bag becoming detached (my fault, risked not emptying it before going to bed). My average is 5.5 days, pretty good considering I usually change on Day 6 even if it feels fine.

I hesitate to mention this, since my experience certainly is atypical. But, for what it's worth......

Oh, and one other thing, the improvement coincided with a gain of 15 lbs over the fall and winter months. I've noticed a couple of other posters mentioning that weight loss was accompanied by more leaks and vice versa. Still rather not have the extra pounds, tho.

Good luck to you, and I hope you find a solution soonest!

Ann