These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
Colostomy
Question: I have had a colostomy for 6 years and they say it is permanent. Is
there any hope in the future that doctors could figure out a way to
reverse it? Since doctors can do heart transplants and so forth,
why is it so complicated to reverse colostomy?
Answer: It can be reversed if you still have an anus with enough colon to reanastamose the surgical stump. However, if your anus has been removed, or if there is insufficient stump to connect there is no way to reconnect the colon.
Process
Question:My grandmother’s doctor has described her problem as “adnoma of the colon” and has provided three options:
1. Daily milk of magnesia dosage and monthly follow-ups to check
growth of mass
2. Colostomy
3. Surgical resectioning of colon which could end up being a colostomy.
He feels that option 3 could be dangerous since he has described the process has being “grueling” – my grandmother is 93. Would you please define current processes for colostomy? To my concern, my grandmother is in New York and I’m in Oklahoma, and I’d like to know more about what she’s up against.
Answer:An adenoma of the colon is a relatively common finding. These are the usual cell type found in polpys of the colon. If left unchecked, these will eventually grow into cancers. Once an adenoma has progressed to the point that it is blocking the colon it will usually turn out to be a cancer of the colon as well. Surgery in an elderly patient should not he undertaken lightly. However, her other health problems are probably more important than the abdominal surgery. That is, if she is active and relatively healthy, I’d proceed with surgery. The reason for this is that obstruction of the colon or intestines is a painful and
grueling way to die. A rapid surgery should not be exceptionally risky. Also, there have been pioneering work in colon resection using laparascopic techniques. There are several research oriented surgical centers who could probably perform this type of surgery. Whether your grandma will need a colostomy depends on the size and position of the tumor/growth. More importantly, I’d leave this decision to your grandma-once she is in possession of the facts.
