A 2017 qualitative research study reveals some essential legal implications for nurses who provide stoma care.

The study was conducted by nurses and nurse faculty in Spain at two university hospitals and one public hospital in Spain. Twenty-one adult ostomy patients were asked for their insights before and after their ostomy surgery.

Fourteen of the patients had a gastrointestinal stoma due to cancer, six due to inflammatory bowel disease, and one due to familial polyposis. About 48% of the sample had an ileostomy and 52% had a colostomy. More than half (62%) had a permanent stoma, while 38% had a temporary stoma.

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We often talk about ostomy care, including the different ostomy types.  

When I was doing research for this blog, it was surprising how many reported cases exist in which colostomy care was the basis of federal lawsuits filed by inmates in various penal settings throughout the United States.

Other recipients of healthcare not in a penal setting have filed such lawsuits as well.

Simply doing an online case law search for “stoma nursing care” or “ostomy nursing care” yields a number of interesting results.

One prisoner’s colostomy care became an issue in a case he filed against the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) in Crew v. Russell.

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Wild on Wounds speaker Anita Prinz, RN, MSN, CWOCN, shared pointers in September at our national conference on colostomy irrigation as a life-changing ostomy management alternative to pouching.

One of the most important and rewarding aspects of working with ostomy patients is helping them adapt to life with a stoma.

A supportive and caring healthcare provider can make all the difference, educating patients on the best ostomy management practices for their schedule and lifestyle.

Collin Jarvis was 21, athletic and a captain of his university’s track and cross-country teams.

He was about to enter his senior year at the University of California, Berkeley when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Only eight months later, in March 2014, Jarvis’ condition unexpectedly worsened and he had to undergo an emergency colectomy.

Jarvis said he never expected to develop complications from his illness so soon. After his surgery, he found himself living a totally different life than he ever imagined — as a person with an ileostomy.

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There are two main types of stomas, and they both have certain “ideal” characteristics in common. Do you know what they are?

You say potato, I say potahto. You say ostomy, I say … stoma. Huh? Those of us in wound care know that it’s not uncommon to hear the terms ostomy and stoma used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings.

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