Can every stoma be reversed?

No. Many temporary stomas, such as a loop ileostomy, can be reversed, but some are permanent and not everyone is suitable. Your surgeon decides based on your surgery and health.

When will my reversal happen?

It varies a lot — from a few weeks to many months — depending on how you have healed and any further treatment. There is no fixed date; your team advises.

Will my bowels be normal straight away?

Often not at first. More frequent, urgent stools, wind and soreness are common early on and usually settle over weeks to months as the bowel adapts.

After surgery on the lower rectum, some people have urgency, frequency and clustering of bowel motions (low anterior resection syndrome). Diet, pelvic-floor exercises and time usually help — ask your team.

Stoma Reversal in Singapore: What to Expect

Q: What is an emergency after a reversal?

Not passing stool or wind with a swollen, painful tummy and vomiting, a spreading wound infection with fever, or signs of dehydration. Seek urgent care and call 995.

Written & reviewed by the BestDoctors.sg editorial team · Last updated 25 Aug 2026 · General information, not medical advice

Many stomas are temporary. A temporary stoma is often made to divert stool away from a fresh join in the bowel so it can heal, or after emergency surgery — commonly a loop ileostomy or loop colostomy. Once the bowel has healed, and any further treatment is complete, the stoma can be reversed: the surgeon closes the stoma and rejoins the bowel so that stool passes the normal way again. This guide sets honest, reassuring expectations — reversal is real and common, but not everyone is suitable, timing varies widely, and bowel habits can take time to settle afterwards.

This is general information; whether and when you can have a reversal is a decision made with your surgical team, and this guide gives no fixed timings or rates. After a reversal, seek urgent help — call 995 — for signs of a bowel obstruction (no stool or wind passed, a bloated painful tummy and vomiting), a spreading wound infection with fever, or severe dehydration from frequent loose stools.

Temporary versus permanent stomas

Not every stoma can be reversed. A loop ileostomy is usually temporary, an end stoma may be temporary or permanent, and some stomas are permanent by design or because reversal would not be safe. It is an honest starting point that reversal is common but not universal, and that suitability depends on your particular surgery and health. If you are not sure which applies to you, ask your surgeon directly whether your stoma is intended to be reversed.

Why a temporary stoma was made

A temporary stoma is usually created to rest and protect a fresh join in the bowel, keeping the contents of the gut away from a delicate healing section, or to manage things safely after emergency surgery. Understanding this helps make sense of the reversal: once that join has healed and is shown to be sound, the diversion is no longer needed, and the bowel can be reconnected. The temporary stoma has done its job of protecting the healing bowel in the meantime.

Whether and when reversal happens

The timing of a reversal is very individual. It depends on how well you have healed, your general fitness for another operation, and whether you need any further treatment such as chemotherapy first. As a general guide, a reversal is not done until at least several weeks after the original surgery, but in practice it can be many months away, and it is decided case by case. Rather than expecting a fixed date, take the timing from your surgical team, who weigh all of these factors for you.

Deciding — it is your choice

Reversal is a personal decision, and some people, having adjusted to life with a stoma, choose not to go ahead — that is a legitimate choice. Before a reversal, the team may run checks, such as imaging or a scope, to confirm the bowel join has healed well. Take the time you need to weigh it up, ask what recovery and bowel function are likely to be like for you, and remember that choosing to keep a well-functioning stoma is a valid option, not a failure.

The operation and recovery

In a reversal, the surgeon closes the stoma opening and rejoins the bowel so that stool passes normally again; occasionally more than one operation is involved, and a scar remains where the stoma was. Recovery follows the general pattern of bowel surgery, with a gradual return to activity over a number of weeks and often a temporary lower-fibre diet while things heal. Your team explains the specifics for your operation, and your stoma nurse continues to support you, including with any skin soreness afterwards.

What bowel function can be like afterwards

It is important to expect that bowel function takes time to settle after a reversal, rather than returning to normal overnight. Many people go through a phase of more frequent stools, urgency, wind and soreness around the back passage, which usually improves over weeks to months as the bowel adapts. Gentle skin care with barrier creams, staying hydrated, and reintroducing foods gradually all help during this period, and it is worth being patient with your body as it readjusts.

Bowel control, LARS and the bottom line

After surgery on the lower rectum in particular, some people experience a set of bowel-control problems that the surgical team may call low anterior resection syndrome, or LARS — including urgency, frequency and clustering of bowel motions. This is usually managed, with time, through diet, pelvic-floor exercises and support from your team, and pelvic-floor physiotherapy and dietitian input are available through hospitals to help. Ask your team whether this is relevant to your operation and what support is available. In Singapore, your reversal is planned by the colorectal or general surgery team, your stoma nurse supports you before and after, and the medical social worker can advise on the admission and any assistance. Seek urgent care for the red flags above, and call 995 in an emergency. The reassuring bottom line is that a stoma reversal returns many people to normal bowel function — give it time to settle, use the support available, and keep your team informed if things are not improving.

Sources

Colostomy UK — Stoma reversal: colostomyuk.org
NHS — Ileostomy (how it is done, including reversal): nhs.uk
Macmillan Cancer Support — What is a stoma: macmillan.org.uk

General information only. This guide supports — but does not replace — the advice of your surgical team and stoma nurse (stomal therapist), who tailor stoma care to you. Seek urgent help — call 995 — if your stoma turns dark, dusky or black or pulls in and goes pale (a possible loss of blood supply), or if you have no output of stool or wind with cramping tummy pain, a swollen abdomen and vomiting (a possible blockage). Also seek care for heavy bleeding from inside the stoma or signs of severe dehydration. If you are struggling emotionally, you are not alone — the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) are on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Stoma Reversal: What to Expect (Singapore)