About Ileostomies
An ileostomy is an opening (stoma) on your abdomen (belly) that connects the last part of your small intestine (ileum) to the outside of your body. It lets stool (poop) and gas leave your body when you can’t pass it through your large intestine (bowel).
Your stool is collected in a pouch worn outside your body.
Why would I need an ileostomy?
You might need an ileostomy if most or all of your colon (large intestine) isn’t working correctly or needs to be removed or bypassed.
You might need an ileostomy if:
- Your large intestine is blocked or damaged by cancer or other problems and needs time to heal
- Part or all of your large intestine has been removed
- You have an infection caused by a hole in your large intestine
You might be more likely to need an ileostomy if you have cancer in your colon, rectum, or ovaries. You might also need a colostomy if you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Rarely, an ileostomy might be needed after surgery to remove colorectal polyps.
What will my ileostomy look like?
Your ileostomy stoma is usually placed on the lower right side of your abdomen. Your stoma is actually the end of your ileum (the lowest part of the small intestine) that has been brought through an opening in your abdomen.
Your stoma might be round or oval. It will usually protrude a bit above your skin. Your stoma should look pink to red. It’s warm and moist and secretes small amounts of mucus.
Most ileostomies have no valve or shut-off muscle (sphincter) to control when stool drains out of your stoma. This means you won’t be able to control stool passing from the stoma and will need to wear a pouch over your stoma all of the time.
An ostomy nurse (or Wound Ostomy Continence nurse, sometimes called a WOC nurse, or your surgeon will figure out the best part of your belly for your stoma. A WOC or ostomy nurse is a specially trained nurse who takes care of and teaches people how to take care of their ostomies.
More about ileostomies
- Written by
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Last Revised: July 1, 2025
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
American Cancer Society Emails
Sign up to stay up-to-date with news, valuable information, and ways to get involved with the American Cancer Society.