Quality of life after ultra low or very low anastomosis?

That was quite a lengthy statement with a question, or many questions in there.. if the question is “ what is life like with an ileostomy” I can answer that for you.. I was diagnosed In September of 2021, and feel as though my life has been on hold for this past year. I too had chemo, and radiation with oral chemo, then in May had a LAR… my ileostomy is temporary , the plan is to have it reversed in in September or October are you asking if like will be much different after this procedure. I can offer some information on this.

if I am off base on your question, forgive me.

I can comment only on a permanent colostomy which I have had for two years now. It is completely manageable. I use a two piece "appliance" which consists of a removable bag and a wafer (I think that's what they call the removable piece that attaches to your skin) and a ring that goes on the wafer to protect your skin. Very simple and easy to use but there's a lot of variety in terms of the type of appliance available (one piece, two piece, size bags, etc.). You just have to make sure you keep the skin around your stoma clean - I haven't had any problems with that.

The placement of the stoma is important in terms of clothing - i.e. where the waist of your pants sit on your body. You'll get pre-marked so you'll know where they're going to put it. I'd also ask your doctor how far out it will protrude. My protrudes a lot (ugly) but I've read that some don't protrude much at all which can cause problems.

Some medicines have given me diarrhea but with the bag I don't have to worry - it all goes there and then I change it. Otherwise, I would have been running to the bathroom and probably wouldn't have made it.

When I had the surgery, I asked if it was reversible. I was told that there could be complications with a reversal and I said "forget it."

I do miss being able to wear certain kinds of clothes but I've got much bigger problems than that with the cancer.

Hope that helps!

I don't know anything about ULAR sphincter sparing surgery - I just wanted to let you know my experience with a colostomy. Other people have different experiences with colostomies - I have read that some leak or need to be repaired but I, thank goodness, have not experienced those problems. You are right to do as much research as possible. My surgery was an emergency so I had no opportunity to research which is why I mentioned the protruding factor - I would have asked about that had I known. I hope that whichever choice you make ends up being a good one for your quality of life.

Having read your post, I posted a comment, but thought I should also reply to yours directly. At age 48, 29 years ago, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. I had surgery with a very low sphincter sparing procedure. I was marked for a colostomy, but the surgeon was able to do a very low colo-anal anastomosis. After recovery I experienced frequent urgency and incontinence with my bowels, resulting in a rather poor quality of life, and I almost wished for a colostomy. However, after hearing about people doing periodic bowel cleansings for a variety of reasons, I thought I might try this for my condition. What I decided to do was to cleanse my bowels with an enema using a rubber water bottle and hose. I found this to work quite well. I have to do this every 2 to 3 days, and it takes about an hour or 2 to complete the process. This has allowed me to continue with a completely normal life other than the inconvenience of a couple of hours every few days. I have been doing this for over 25 years now. I am currently 77 years old, and I am quite happy that the surgeon decided not to give me a colostomy.