The correlation between stoma siting by a stomal therapy nurse and the rate of post-operative complications and length of stay

This retrospective audit will examine the rates of four post-operative stoma complications in 128 patients undergoing elective surgery that required formation of a faecal stoma between 2010 and 2014. This study will correlate the rates of complications in regard to whether the patient had stoma site marking by a stomal therapy nurse (STN) before surgery and will examine the relationship between pre-operative stoma siting and length of hospital stay. Findings included a total of 24% of sited patients who experienced early post-operative stoma complications and 33% of patients who were not sited who experienced complications. The most common post-operative complication experienced was appliance leakage with resultant moisture-associated peristomal skin damage. Elective surgery patients who were not sited pre-operatively had a length of stay three days longer than the patients who were sited preoperatively. Overall, patients seen by an STN prior to surgery have fewer post-operative stoma complications and a decreased length of stay in one tertiary-level hospital.