The type of care necessary after a procedure depends on what’s done, says Parul Shukla, MD, regional chief of colon and rectal surgery at Northwell Health in New York City. For example, if you have an ostomy bag, care will involve making sure your stoma is not infected, and that you’re not experiencing issues with emptying the ostomy efficiently. If you have a J-pouch, follow-up will include ensuring that there’s no inflammation happening with the internal reservoir, he says.

“For both surgeries, your health team will talk about nutritional changes you may need to keep inflammation controlled, and do postoperative bloodwork to detect any inflammation or infections in an early stage,” Dr. Shukla says. With a proctocolectomy, there should not be a need for further UC medications, but it’s still important to track any symptoms and do regular surveillance visits with your doctor, he says.