ostomy

American  

[os-tuh-mee] / ˈɒs tə mi /

noun

• ostomies
  plural

1. any of various surgical procedures, as a colostomy, in which an artificial opening is made so as to permit the drainage of waste products either into an appropriate organ or to the outside of the body.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ostomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ostomy

1955–60; generalized from words in which -ostomy is the final element; see -o-, -stomy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ostomy ostomies

When Osmundson read the file, her mind ticked through worst-case scenarios if things didn’t go well: The patient might need to use an ostomy bag attached to her abdomen to dispel waste.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024

He lives in Llanelli with his wife Jane and is a bus driver, but before his ostomy surgery he worked in a factory.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2023

On the other formulas, Dr. Corkins said, the children experienced dehydration and diarrhea or had too much output into their ostomy bags.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2022

"Brayden suffered before he died because the hospital, its nurses, and the home health nurse failed to teach and take care of this young man with a new ostomy."

From Fox News ● Jan. 12, 2022

So Chief Navy Counselor Grant Khanbalinov lay still, alone in his bed all day, hoping his ostomy bag wouldn’t burst while his wife was at work managing a dental office in Virginia.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2021

“A bag is better than a box,” people with ostomies joke online.

From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2015