Surgical management of bleeding stomal varices

A retrospective chart review of nine patients with stomal varices and portal hypertension who required surgical management of bleeding varices from 1978 to 1986 was performed. The patient's mean age at stoma formation was 46 years (range, 36 to 70 years). Three were female, six were male, and all were Caucasian. Three patients had colostomies and six had ileostomies. Indications for creation of the ostomies included inflammatory bowel disease in six patients and carcinoma in three patients. The time from creation of the stoma to the first bleed was 11 to 196 months (mean, 82 months). The average time between this bleed and surgical treatment was six months. The operative procedures performed included nine mucocutaneous disconnections (MCD) in seven patients (one for recurrent bleeding) and two stoma relocations (one for recurrence). MCD is simple, quick, and associated with a lower morbidity and intraoperative blood loss than stomal relocation. Postoperative follow-up has ranged from 4 months to 4.6 years (mean, 2.5 years). During this period there were two episodes of recurrent varices that required surgery. In the select group of patients that cannot be managed conservatively, MCD is favored and relocation considered only if MCD is technically impossible.