Introduction: Redo IPAA is a viable option to maintain intestinal continuity in patients with ileal pouch failure. Most patients with ileal pouch failure are physiologically and psychologically too deconditioned to undergo a 1- or 2-stage redo ileal pouch surgery, so a 3-staged redo ileal pouch surgery is needed. This consists of an initial proximal diverting loop ileostomy for 6 months, followed by redo ileal pouch construction with temporary stoma, and, lastly, stoma closure. The location of the initial diverting ileostomy is paramount, because 40% of cases will require pouch excision and construction of a de novo pouch, and a thoughtfully placed ileostomy will allow construction of a redo pouch without sacrificing any bowel length. In our report, we described our technique to create thoughtful ileostomy in patients who undergo redo IPAA.
Technique: We create a loop ileostomy ≈20 cm proximal to the existing ileal pouch, from the level of the tip of the J or the proximal inlet of an S-pouch. We call this a thoughtful ileostomy. By doing that, the thoughtful ileostomy site can be used as the apex of the new ileal pouch and become the ileal-anal anastomosis when a de novo ileal pouch needs to be constructed.
Results: We created a thoughtful ileostomy in 50 patients in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at New York University Langone Health who either subsequently underwent or will undergo a redo IPAA between September 2016 and March 2019 (laparoscopic, n = 37; open, n = 13). Ten of the laparoscopic cases were preemptively converted to open because of dense adhesions.
Conclusion: A thoughtful ileostomy is important so as to not sacrifice bowel in patients being prepared for redo ileal pouch surgery. Initial diversion with thoughtful ileostomy 6 months before redo ileal pouch construction also allows patients to be prepared for a major operation both physiologically and psychologically.