Diversion colitis is a condition that occurs in the disconnected part of the intestinal tract after an ileostomy or colostomy surgery. Just because it mimics the symptoms to some extent doesn’t mean that it should be confused with any kind of IBD. What is diversion colitis? Diversion colitis is the type of inflammation that occurs most commonly in a defunctioned part of the colon. A defunctioned part of the colon is the one that remains in the abdomen, but doesn’t get any fecal material passing through it after ostomy surgery. According to a survey, about 91% of individuals with defunctioned colon develop this condition, although not many people show any symptom. It is usually doctors or surgeons who discover this condition in a person’s colon during an endoscopic exam. The same condition can occur in a person who has had the colon removed but retains the rectum. In that case, the condition is known as diversion proctitis. Symptoms of diversion colitis Most of the individuals with diversion colitis show no symptoms. Some people, however, show some signs that might include pain in the abdomen, bleeding or discharge from the rectum, and tenesmus. Tenesmus is the rectal cramping that makes a person feel like needing to have a bowel movement. Reasons for diversion colitis Most of the doctors believe that diversion colitis happens as a result of a change in the bacterial composition inside the defunctioned part of the colon. A lack of nutrition supply to the living cells of the colon can also contribute to the development of diversion colitis. Treatment for diversion colitis
The most common treatment of diversion colitis is to rejoin the defunctioned part of the colon to the functional section. It means that the stoma reversal is the most popular, perhaps only, way to treat diversion colitis. After rejoining, the colon gets proper blood-flow and an adequate nutrition supply. That is why the stoma reversal sometimes treats diversion colitis almost immediately. If there is no chance for your stoma to be reversed, you may want your surgeon to remove the colon completely. Like we said earlier, not every person with diversion colitis will show symptoms, which means that this problem largely goes painlessly undiagnosed. Leaving this problem untreated can lead to colonic stricture, which refers to the narrowing of intestines in certain sections. It may also lead to the complete failure of the defunctioned colon. In such cases, the stoma reversal might not remain an option for you. What’s more important is to make sure to get your defunctioned colon checked regularly. You may want to talk about it with your doctor or ET.
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