It’s funny how we celebrate various strange anniversaries after our accidents.

A lot of people with spinal cord injuries celebrate the date of their injury. I’ve never been too keen on that, but I did celebrate something pretty spectacular this year — the 10 year anniversary of my Mitrofanoff surgery. A Mitrofanoff is a stoma surgically created and put inside my belly button to allow me to catheterize independently and inconspicuously.

It’s a fabulous surgery, if you’ve ever had any doubts. I know I sure did before having the surgery in 2005. Before the surgery, for 12 years prior, I was a Foley catheter girl and had a permanent catheter in my urethra 24/7. It worked fine until I suddenly became incontinent and my body began to reject the Foley catheter.
It was horrible, and out of sheer desperation I finally decided to go with the Mitroffanoff, a procedure that had scared the daylights out of me ever since finding out about it. “Heck no I’m not putting a hole my belly button,” I would say, but when you’re peeing all over yourself in your mid-20s, a crazy hole in the belly button that allows you to pee solo doesn’t sound that bad.

It was a difficult surgery, but all these years afterwards have been some of the best since my injury. I’m not walking again, sadly, but I have independent control of my bladder in regards to emptying it. If you’re not familiar with the surgery, it is pretty amazing. The surgeon will create a conduit from your bladder to a new hole that he or she creates in your belly button.

After it’s healed, which takes about a month, you can insert a catheter into the hole, and reach your bladder. I went from having to always hide my leg bag (I was a big fan of flared leg pants; thank you 1990s for having fashion trends that worked in my favor) to not having to hide any kind of “plumbing” anymore. In my world, it was nothing short of a miracle.

My sex life, of course, is much better. No longer do I have to worry a Foley balloon rubbing against the inside of my bladder wall and making it bleed while having intercourse, and I don’t have to tell new partners about my catheter situation either. It’s nice having a little bit of indiscretion.

But one of the best things is my fashion options have completely opened, and just in time for the leggings trend. I can’t imagine trying to hide a leg bag under a pair of leggings (although I wouldn’t put it past myself; I became a ninja at hiding my leg bag under short skirts). Skirts, dresses, shorts, swimsuits, knee-high boots — I can now wear anything and it’s absolutely fabulous.

A few tips if you decide to go there: I’d try to keep my stoma as clean as possible, which is the biggest piece of advice I give anybody considering the surgery. And don’t let your stoma in the sun either. UV rays can harm the stoma quite quickly.

I love my little bladder hole. Thank you for making my life so much better. I didn’t get a cake or anything to celebrate my awesome belly buttons stoma, but that’s OK, every time I pee is a little celebration onto itself.

Have you had the Mitroffanoff surgery? Would you recommend it?