Revising the troublesome stoma: combined abdominal wall recontouring and revision of stomas

Despite preoperative siting and maturation of stomas, some patients may have poor stoma function because of redundant pannus, scars, creases, and parastomal or incisional hernias. In these patients, a combined abdominoplasty and stoma revision may be helpful. The object of this manuscript is to report our preliminary results.

Eight patients (mean age, 48 years; female/male ratio, 7/1) undergoing this procedure are reported. Five patients had inflammatory bowel disease, two had malignancies, and one had multiple sclerosis with bladder and bowel involvement. Patients were contacted at two months to two years follow-up to assess functional outcome and satisfaction with the procedure.

Indications for surgery were difficulty maintaining an appliance (n = 7), frequent stool leakage (n = 6), and skin irritation (n = 4). Multiple surgeries (n = 4), skin creases (n = 3), scarring (n = 2), large weight loss (n = 4), and hernias (n = 5) were contributing factors. At surgery five patients had hernias repaired (3 parastomal, 2 incisional), three had stomas resited, and three underwent resections for Crohn's disease. One patient developed a seroma postoperatively. At follow-up six patients were able to maintain an appliance for at least four days, whereas one changed the appliance every three days because of personal preference. None experience stool leakage. All reported a dramatic improvement in body image.

Combined stoma revision and abdominoplasty can be performed safely and leads to improved functional results and outcome.