What is a Stoma?

Serious conditions of the bowel and bladder are endemic in the UK, and are not usually normal dinner conversation, even though every year:

• 36,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer
• 10,000 are discovered to have bladder cancer
• Nearly 20,000 new cases of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease & ulcerative colitis) are identified, mostly between the ages 15-35
• Half of adults over the age 50 have undiagnosed diverticulosis
• Hundreds of babies are born with bowel or bladder defects

The surgical treatment of these conditions often requires the formation of a stoma which is an artificial opening of the intestine or urinary tract and can affect people of any age or background.

There are generally three kinds of stoma associated with the bowel. They are:

• Colostomy
• Ileostomy
• Urostomy