The main types of ostomies are colostomy, ileostomy, and urostomy. A colostomy involves the large intestine, also known as the colon. You can think of “colostomy” as a short way of saying “colon ostomy”. An ileostomy involves the small intestine, usually the last part of the small intestine, known as the ileum. Once again, an “ileostomy” is just a quick way of saying an ostomy made from the ileum. A urostomy involves the urinary system and can be made a few different ways. Each type of ostomy serves to divert waste or urine away from the normal route.

Different ostomies are created for different medical reasons, but they are all similar in that they each need an external pouching system, or an ostomy appliance, to collect the waste or urine that gets diverted. Depending on the underlying medical condition, emergency or planned nature of the surgery, and other factors, you may have different types of incisions after surgery. The D-Ostomy system is created to allow room to avoid overlap of these incisions when an ostomy appliance is placed to minimize pain, leakage, and other complications that can result from an appliance overlapping a wound or scar. In the same way that the straight edge of the D-ostomy appliance can be used to avoid incisions and scars in the immediate post-operative phase, it can also be used to avoid scars, rolls, folds, other dressings, drains, second ostomies, bellybuttons and anything else that may be nearby to your ostomy long term.