Aim: In advanced pelvic cancer it may be necessary to perform a total pelvic exenteration. In such cases urinary tract reconstruction is usually achieved with the creation of an ileal conduit with a urinary stoma on the right side of the patient's abdomen and an end colostomy separately on the left. The potential morbidity from a second stoma may be avoided by the use of a double-barrelled wet colostomy (DBWC), as a single stoma. Another advantage is the possibility of using a vertical rectus abdominis muscle flap for perineal reconstruction.
Method: All patients undergoing formation of a DBWC were included.
Result: A DBWC was formed in 10 patients. One patient underwent formation of a double-barrelled wet ileostomy.
Conclusions: In this technical note we present our early experience in 11 cases and a video of DBWC formation in a male patient.
Keywords: Double-barrelled (wet) colostomy; pelvic exenteration; rectal cancer.
Colorectal Disease © 2016 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.