Modification of Perceived Body And of Body Concepts*

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Abstract
Introduction A SYSTEMATIC clinical investigation of patients with a colostomy which emphasized the impact of the abdominoperineal resection upon function was conducted by Sutherland et al.9The presence of depression, associated with the existence of the colostomy itself, was frequently reported by patients; in addition, an altered perception and concept of the patient's own bodies was also commonly reported by them. A second paper by Meyer and Lyons,5the case study of a male patient, reported psychodynamically significant observations associated with the possession of an artificial intestinal stoma. These observations indicated the presence of lowered self-esteem, depression, and a marked alteration in patients' images of their own bodies. The psychopathology observed was not only ascribable to the abdominoperineal resection, but also in the case of men to the organically based impotence often accompanying the surgery. Meyer and Lyons stated that it is difficult