Stomas · Guide
Stoma explorer: guide
What a stoma is, the different types, and how the clinical team sets up the picture.
For patients and families
What the picture shows
A 3D model of the digestive system inside the body: the stomach, the small bowel where most food is digested, the large bowel (colon) that takes water out and forms stool, and the rectum, which stores stool until you go to the toilet.
Your stoma nurse or surgeon can add the stoma you are having or already have, and show which part of the bowel is brought out to it and what happens to the rest of the bowel.
What a stoma is
A stoma is an opening on the abdomen where the bowel is brought out, so that waste leaves the body there, into a bag, instead of through the anus. It is pink and moist, like the inside of the mouth, and does not hurt to touch.
- Ileostomy: made from the small bowel, usually on the right. The output is looser, and the bag is emptied several times a day.
- Colostomy: made from the large bowel, usually on the left. The output is usually formed.
- Loop stomas have two openings side by side and are often temporary. End stomas have one opening and are more often permanent.
Things you could ask
“Can you show me where the stoma will be?”
“Which part of my bowel will it be made from?”
“What happens to the rest of my bowel?”
“Will it be temporary or permanent?”
Afterwards
Your team can give you a picture sheet with a QR code that opens the same picture on your phone. Nothing about you is stored online. Your stoma nurse is the best person to ask about anything to do with your stoma.
What it can’t do
The model is simplified. Your stoma nurse will mark the right position for you, which may differ from the picture.
For clinicians
Before you start
The explorer opens with the digestive system as it usually is, with no stoma. Starting there helps the patient get their bearings. Use Patient view to hide the set-up panel while you explain.
Setting it up
| Control | What to set |
|---|---|
| Type of stoma | Loop ileostomy, end ileostomy, loop colostomy or end colostomy. Ileostomies are drawn on the right, colostomies on the left, below and to the side of the navel. |
| Bowel beyond the stoma | For end stomas: still there and resting (for example a rectal stump), or removed (shown faintly). For loop stomas the bowel beyond is always shown resting. |
| Show the bag | A drainable bag for an ileostomy and a closed bag for a colostomy, with the flange on the skin. Turn it off to show the stoma itself. |
| Output moving into the bag | Animated, to show the route waste now takes. |
| Parastomal hernia | A bulge around the stoma. |
Views
- Whole body and Abdomen: where the stoma sits on the body.
- Inside the abdomen: which bowel is used, and what rests or has been removed.
- Close-up: the stoma, the loop’s two openings, and the bag.
What the model assumes
- Typical adult anatomy, standing. Stoma position is illustrative; siting is done by the stoma nurse.
- Spout height is shown in broad terms: an ileostomy spouted, a colostomy closer to the skin.
- Loop colostomies are drawn from the sigmoid colon on the left; transverse loop colostomies are not shown separately.
- Urostomies are not shown yet.
Picture sheet and QR code
Snapshot up to four views, add the stoma nurse’s name and number and an optional note, then preview the A4 sheet. It can include “Living with a stoma” and a plain-English labels page. The QR code reopens the picture on the patient’s phone and never holds a name or notes.
If you are a stoma care nurse and can review this tool, please get in touch.