A Kock pouch (continent ileostomy) removes the colon and rectum and creates an internal reservoir from the small intestine. This procedure creates an opening in the abdominal wall (called a stoma) without an ostomy bag. To drain the pouch, the patient inserts a catheter through the valve into the internal reservoir.
To visualize what a Kock pouch looks like, please see Figure 8 below.
This is not commonly done but it is sometimes offered to Crohn’s disease patients who do not do well with a J-pouch due to significant perianal disease.
Written by Tina Aswani Omprakash. Medically reviewed and validated by Jordan Axelrad, MD, MPH. These webpages are funded by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Contact Us
United Ostomy Associations of America
P.O. Box 2293
Biddeford, ME 04005-2293
Call us toll-free at: 1-800-826-0826.
Our Information Line hours are Monday-Friday, 9am to 3pm EST. If you have an emergency, please dial 911 or contact your local medical professional.
Please understand that UOAA is a private, nonprofit, advocacy and informational organization. We are not a medical facility and we do not have medical or legal professionals on staff. Therefore, UOAA does not provide Medical, Mental Health, Insurance or Legal Advice. Visit UOAA Virtual Ostomy Clinic provided by The Wound Company for non-emergency, virtual ostomy support.
