The surgical procedure to create a new way for urine to leave the body is known as urinary diversion surgery. Your doctor may choose to create this diversion in your body when your natural urinary pathway fails to perform its function due to blockage.
The natural urinary pathway consists of two kidneys, ureter, bladder, and urethra. Any problem in the passage of urine causes it to build up in the bladder, kidneys, or other areas of the urinary tract. This buildup can result in several problems, including urinary stones, UTIs, pain, and damage to the urinary tract. Leaving this problem untreated can lead to a life-threatening situation.
This diversion in the urinary tract can be temporary or permanent. Temporary urinary diversion allows the diseased part of the tract to recover before the surgeon chooses to reverse this diversion. In case of a permanent urinary diversion, the patient will have to live with the surgically created urinary pathway for the lifetime.
Reasons you may need a urinary diversion
The most common reason for a person requiring a urinary diversion is bladder cancer, whose treatment is generally the removal of the bladder. The surgical removal of the bladder is known as a cystectomy.
Other reasons you may need a urinary diversion include the following.
- Nerve damage to the bladder, such as spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, or spinal cord injury.
- Bladder inflammation, which might be chronic or long-lasting: It generally results from interstitial cystitis, UTIs, or urinary retention.
- Radiation therapy, which might end up damaging the bladder:
- Incontinence of the urinary system that cannot be controlled through medications
- Injury
- Urinary stones
Different types of urinary stones
Different types of urinary diversion are the following.
- Cystostomy
- Ureteral stent
- Urostomy
- Bladder catheterization
- Continent urinary diversion
- Nephrostomy
What to expect after urinary diversion surgery
After surgery, a nurse will visit your room to start teaching you about how to take care of your urinary diversion. The most common type of urinary diversion is urostomy, which involves the use of an ileal conduit to pass urine out of the body through an opening in the belly. You will need to wear an ostomy bag over to stoma to manage urine evacuations. Having to carry an ostomy bag 24 hours a day seems daunting at first, but it gets easier with time.
The nurse will teach you how to attach the urostomy bag while making sure that the bag’s skin barrier makes a tighter seal with the peristomal skin. You do not want your peristomal skin to come in contact with urine, or it can cause damage that will not only compromise the seal of ostomy pouches in the future, but the skin problems will get quite painful.
You may want to use skincare products to take care of the skin around the stoma, but be sure to talk about those products with your doctor before purchasing them. If your peristomal skin is healthy, you will not need anything other than warm water to maintain its good condition. You may not, in fact, want to use soap for cleaning the peristomal skin area because it generally contains oils and perfumes, both of which can leave a residue on the skin.
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