Continent ileostomy with protective loop ileostomy: early experience.

A continent ileostomy for patients with ulcerative colitis or polyposis coli is one of the alternatives to a conventional ileostomy. Construction of the continent ileostomy is a complex operation that can be followed by multiple, serious, and rather intractable surgical complications. In a small series of ten patients, a temporary diversion loop ileostomy was used to promote uncomplicated healing. The lack of any immediate surgical postoperative complications supports our point of view that, at least in centers with little experience of continent ileostomy, a two-stage procedure is preferable to a one-stage procedure.