patient's bowel habit but that most patients developed a routine of every-other-day irrigation, whereas a few needed no irrigation. People with colostomies must wear an ostomy pouching system to collect intestinal waste. Ordinarily, the pouch must be emptied or changed a couple of times a day depending on the frequency of activity; in general the further from the anus (i.e., the further 'up' the intestinal tract) the ostomy is located the greater the output and more frequent the need to empty or change the pouch. Colostomy and irrigation People with colostomies who have ostomies of the sigmoid colon or descending colon may have the option of irrigation, which allows for the person to not wear a pouch, but rather just a gauze cap over the stoma, and to schedule irrigation for times that are convenient. To irrigate, a catheter is placed inside the stoma, and flushed with water, which allows the feces to come out of the body into an irrigation sleeve. Most colostomates irrigate once a day or every other day, though this depends on the person, their food intake, and their health. Complications Parastomal hernia (PH) is the most common late complication of stomata through the abdominal wall, occurring in 10-25% of the patients. Prolapse of bowel wall through the stoma occasionally happens and can require reoperation to repair. Other common complications of colostomy are high output, skin irritation, prolapse, retraction, and ischemia. References Digestive system surgery