A nurse is assisting with teaching a client who is preoperative for a sigmoid colostomy. Which of the following statements should the nurse include?

A sigmoid colostomy is created from the sigmoid colon, which is located in the lower left portion of the abdomen. Therefore, the stoma will be situated in the left lower quadrant of the abdomen, and this is the anatomically accurate teaching point the nurse should include. A healthy stoma should be pink to red and moist, similar in appearance to the oral mucosa; a purple or dusky color indicates compromised circulation and must be reported immediately, so telling the client to expect a purple stoma would be incorrect and alarming. The stoma itself has no nerve endings, so it is not painful; clients may experience discomfort at the incision site, but the stoma end is not a source of pain. Regarding stool consistency, the sigmoid colon is the last segment before the rectum and absorbs most remaining water, so a sigmoid colostomy typically produces formed or semi-formed stool — unlike a transverse or ascending colostomy, which produces liquid to semi-liquid output. The nurse should be sure to emphasize to the client that stool consistency from a sigmoid colostomy will be similar to normal formed stool, making the statement that it will not produce formed stool incorrect.