I've noticed that there have been posts on this site about how to choose a stoma site, so I thought I'd pass along my WOC nurse's perspective. She marked my spot today and explained that this is what they look for:
NO to near the belly button
NO to near the hip bone
NO to near the mainline incision
YES to below natural waistline/where you wear your pants (i.e., so waistline of clothes doesn't sit on top of stoma)
YES to a spot with good visibility when you look down (don't want it on the underneath side of any puffed out areas of abdomen)
YES to a spot with a good surface of flatness for good bag fit
YES to a spot with good muscle tone to hold the stoma securely
As far as buying powders and stuff in advance, she says she only recommends those when a specific problem arises, so no way to predict what's needed beforehand. Like Jill on this site, the WOC nurse has a "less is more" approach.
She also said that it takes 6-8 weeks for the stoma to stop shrinking, so it's best to wait until that time to narrow in on a specific appliance system that works best for your body.
She highly recommended going online to the UOAA.org site for tons of info about life with an ostomy.
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