Stoma Care - Thick Substance on Stoma - Need Advice!

I am the primary caregiver for my father. I am a retired fireman/paramedic (30 years) and have a pretty good and well-rounded knowledge regarding most medical problems, including my father's prolapsed stoma.
My father had his stoma placed a few years ago due to cancer. He has dealt with it quite well. At 93 years of age, he is still remarkably oriented and alert. He shows no overly blatant symptoms of Alzheimer's, he eats well, sleeps well, and has 2-3 part/full-time caregivers who attend to him daily. His stoma management is exceptional, after years of trying different appliances, equipment, and techniques.
We now have a problem that we are finding no answers for. So, I thought I would bring it to the true experts for an answer.
We are finding, when changing his bag (2-3 times a week), a thick/paste-like substance attached to the underside of the stoma itself. We're thinking it is a fungus. He has no pain or irritation associated with it. We presented it to his Hospice Nurse who sent a picture to the Hospice's associated Doctor. He said not to clean it off, to just leave it alone. It seems to be slowly growing. His prolapsed stoma is quite large normally, 7-12 inches in length, and 4-8 inches in width.
Has anyone had this problem, know a solution, or offer advice?

Hello fyrmnmat.

I am as clueless about this as you are. At 93 years old and recieving hospice care, the doctor is probably right about leaving it alone but if he hasn't given you any idea of what it actually is and you clearly want to know, I would be telling him this and asking him to conduct a biopsy. This might prompt him to be honest with you about what he thinks is really wrong or, if he doesn't know,  it could encourage him to find out.

Best wishes

Bill

Thanks for your answer, Bill. My dad has no pain or discomfort because of it. Now it has just become a "Personal Quest" to know what it is. Hospice will not do a biopsy, or any other treatment other than what we do now for him. Thanks, Matt

Hello Matt. I don't know what sort of relationship you have with your dad, but if it was me, I would probably try to photograph the condition and post it on one of the many medical sites where they will try to diagnose online.

If not, then an organisation like AGE CONCERN might be able to shed some light on the issue. The problem is that at that age, there are many peculiar and sometimes horrid things that can happen, that can only be put down to old age. Fortunately, my wife worked in a veterinary surgery for many years and often the things that go wrong with old animals also are similar in humans, so she has seen all sorts of 'growths' including different forms of fungus and  the suchlike. Sometimes if rarely,  scar tissue can continue to grow long after it should have stopped. I haven't heard that they have found a cure for this condition yet but they would not want to admit this either.

Medical staff are unlikely to come across these things too often as the people invariably die of other things before such things become a problem. Their other concern would be that if they treat it, the treatment could  lead to death. This would raise the inevitable questions as to whether they should have left well alone in the first place. Sometimes, when people ask 'what is wrong?' the most appropriate response is 'You don't want to know!' -- meaning of course, that it is too abhorrent to contemplate. Alternatively, it could be that they just don't know and can't be bothered to find out!

I hope you manage to find out for yourself in the near future.

Best wishes

Bill

Thanks again, Bill. I wanted to place a picture of it somewhere and I have been at a loss to know where. I will try my luck there.

Matt

Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Good luck with that and I hope it gives you some answers.