MODEL RELEASED. Nurse dressing wound. View of an elderly man having an abdominal wound dressed by a district nurse. The nurse is spraying the wound with an antiseptic. The man has had a colostomy operation, in which a diseased part of his lower bowel was removed, and the free end passed out through his abdominal wall to form a stoma (opening). A bag is seen to the right of the nurse's hands attached to this opening to hold the faeces. Most people can continue to lead active lives after a colostomy, provided they are trained in care of the stoma and in replacing their colostomy bags.