Early local complications from intestinal stomas.

A retrospective review of 610 consecutive patients with intestinal stomas constructed at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, was carried out to analyze early local complications with respect to stoma type and to compare complication rates by surgical specialty. A total of 197 complications were recognized in 158 patients for a corrected complication rate of 25.9%. Peristomal skin irritation (42.1%) was the most frequently recognized early complication in this study. Ileostomy was associated with the highest morbidity (40%) of any type of stoma. Emergency stoma formation seems to be associated with the highest complication rates, probably because of suboptimal stoma placement. The morbidity of stoma formation seems to be related to the amount of formal training in gastrointestinal tract surgery. Technical guidelines for stoma construction are presented to help minimize these complications.