An estimated 100,000 individuals within the United States experience operations that result in a colostomy or ileostomy each year. Ostomy formation is used in surgery for operations involving several pathologies involving the small intestine or colon. Evidence shows that loop ileostomy or loop colostomy for fecal diversion effectively reduce the complications of anastomotic dehiscence. Anastomotic leak can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The role of temporary fecal diversion though a loop ileostomy or colostomy is vital in protecting tenuous anastomoses in the pelvis, immunocompromised patients, or those who are septic.⁴ We present a case of a patient with a perforated colon cancer who required an innovative technique for fecal diversion.

Loop ileostomy is commonly performed for typhoid ileal perforations as temporary faecal diversion. This is associated with several stoma-related complications and also requires further surgery for its closure. Thus, we were prompted to conduct a prospective observational study on the safety, feasibility and efficacy of ghost ileostomy in typhoid ileal perforations. After dealing with the perforation, a ghost ileostomy was performed in 10 selected patients with favourable circumstances; otherwise, a conventional loop ileostomy was performed in 19 patients. The two groups were comparable (p > 0.05) for morbidity and mortality except for stoma-related complications, seen only in the loop ileostomy group. Body weight was better preserved in the ghost ileostomy group. One patient in the ghost ileostomy group required conversion to loop ileostomy owing to signs of intra-peritoneal suture leak, without any detriment to outcome. Our study shows safety, feasibility and efficacy of ghost ileostomy in selected patients with typhoid ileal perforations, thus avoiding loop ileostomy in one-third of patients.

This study was designed to evaluate a new technique for a completely diverting tube ileostomy achieved through temporary occlusion of the distal ileum using a flexible rubber strip.

This prospective interventional study was conducted in one centre. Patients who underwent colorectal resections with a primary anastomosis and who were deemed as requiring a defunctioning stoma were included in the study. After completion of resection and anastomosis, the tube ileostomy was fashioned by inserting a reinforced (spiral) endotracheal tube with an inner diameter of 7.5 mm into the ileum. To provide complete faecal diversion, temporary occlusion of the distal ileum was performed using a flexible rubber strip. The primary outcome of this study was the incidence of complete diversion achieved using this method.

Fifty consecutive patients underwent a diverted tube ileostomy using the technique described above. Defaecation before removal of the strip did not occur in any of the patients inferring that complete diversion was observed in all patients (100%). The tube was removed at postoperative week 3. After tube removal, the resulting enterocutaneous fistulas closed spontaneously in a median of 6 (2-30) days.

The diverting tube ileostomy technique using an easily removable rubber strip to defunction the colorectal anastomosis is a safe and effective method that precludes the need to fashion a stoma.

To introduce natural orifice transgastric endoscopic surgery (NOTES) tube ileostomy using pelvis-directed submucosal tunneling endoscopic gastrostomy and endoscopic tube ileostomy.

Six live pigs (three each in the non-survival and survival groups) were used. A double-channeled therapeutic endoscope was introduced perorally into the stomach. A gastrostomy was made using a 2-cm transversal mucosal incision following the creation of a 5-cm longitudinal pelvis-directed submucosal tunnel. The pneumoperitoneum was established via the endoscope. In the initial three operations of the series, a laparoscope was transumbilically inserted for guiding the tunnel direction, intraperitoneal spatial orientation and distal ileum identification. Endoscopic tube ileostomy was conducted by adopting an introducer method and using a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Catheter Kit equipped with the Loop Fixture. The distal tip of the 15 Fr catheter was placed toward the proximal limb of the ileum to optimize intestinal content drainage. Finally, the tunnel entrance of the gastrostomy was closed using nylon endoloops with the aid of a twin grasper. The gross and histopathological integrity of gastrostomy closure and the abdominal wall-ileum stoma tract formation were assessed 1 wk after the operation.

Transgastric endoscopic tube ileostomy was successful in all six pigs, without major bleeding. The mean operating time was 71 min (range: 60-110 min). There were no intraoperative complications or hemodynamic instability. The post-mortem, which was conducted 1-wk postoperatively, showed complete healing of the gastrostomy and adequate stoma tract formation of ileostomy.

Transgastric endoscopic tube ileostomy is technically feasible and reproducible in an animal model, and this technique is worthy of further improvement.