Anyone had or know anyone who’s had a stoma reversal?

Mrs EGF is ‘managing’ ok but isn’t happy in the least & initially said she never wanted any more surgery. Ever.
Except she’s now having second thoughts as it’s all a pain in the bum. (well, ya know)

So, any experiences either personal or relative? Looking for pro’s & cons from actual people.
Thanks.

BTW, it’s a colostomy not an ileostomy.

ONly seen it done as a part of my work years ago – but people did have them successfully reversed.

my mum had hers reversed, after a year, during her cancer treatment. Ten years later all is fine. Couple of days in hospital (if memory serves) but no real issues

I know a lad in his twenties who due to health problems (can’t be any more specific sorry) had it done and reversed. He’s got one big vertical incision scar and two smaller ones either side on his abdomen, he works 6 days a week in the building trade and lives a normal life.

Never really discussed it in detail but I could ask him next time I see him.

My little girl required a stoma less than a week after being born. Stayed in place for around 8 weeks only and then went back to have the process reversed. Overall around 5cm of “pipe” had been removed. She was discharged from LGI two days or so after the reversal. Just has a scar across her tummy. Everything works as it should. No issues to date. She turned 4 last week.

She was discharged from LGI two days or so after the reversal.

That’s interesting as Mrs EGF worked on paediatric HDU in LGI around then. (Ward 42?)

Now she’s on the receiving end of care.

Ward 42

My mate had a stoma reversal – everything went ok – unlike his initial admission to remove part of his bowel due to cancer which turned into a nightmare for him/ He said it was relatively painless (but compared to the fiasco of original op might not be a good recommendation.)

My mum attends a Macmillan support group for bowel cancer each month. She, and her friends there, have a range of experiences: reversal and very happy with it; reversal and regretted it; and definitely don’t want a reversal. So, not much help really!

It seems to be a very personal decision, related to age, lifestyle and general health.

I’m glad that Mrs EGF is now recovering well, after all the recent complications. Good luck with making that decision!

My mate had a stoma reversal – everything went ok – unlike his initial admission to remove part of his bowel due to cancer which turned into a nightmare for him/ He said it was relatively painless (but compared to the fiasco of original op might not be a good recommendation.)

This is petty much word for word exactly how I would describe my mother’s experience if both the initial op and subsequent reversal.

Ex-oncology nurse here (and UC sufferer. No stoma though.)

IME, stomas are generally so well managed these days that they can sometimes even seem beneficial, well, almost.

I think it depends largely on the experience of the patient wrt the stoma itself, the diagnosis and duration of the disease that led to it. For example: for bowel cancer, there’s usually an acute period leading up to the diagnosis, with little time to take everything in, and a desire to return to normality ASAP. For more chronic disorders (eg, Chrohns), there’s definitely more time to think about the positives and negatives.

The advent of stoma care nurses practically everywhere has transformed support, and its now possible to get a a system that fits well and can be obtained almost wherever and whenever the patient needs.

My advice would be to consult more heavily with the stoma care team and not just the patient groups.

As an aside, if my UC ever goes ballistic, I’ll happily get a stoma and live with it. Wouldn’t really fuss me too much tbh.

Good luck to Mrs EGF!

Thanks for the replies (& the good wishes)
Looks like it’s all a personal thing so we’ll just have to wait & see.

The advent of stoma care nurses practically everywhere has transformed support

Theyv’e all been awesome!