Until more is known about ulcerative colitis, it will be advisable to counsel some patients with this disease to undergo ileostomy. Lindahl, Ashburn, Pemberton, and one of us (Bargen) reviewed the nature of the impact of such a procedure on the daily life of 185 patients who had undergone ileostomy at the Mayo Clinic from 1913 to 1939. Long observations of a rather large group of patients who had chronic ulcerative colitis has resulted in the well-established impression that about 10% of the patients with long standing disease eventually undergo ileostomy. Different aspects of the adjustment of the patients to this condition have been described. McKittrick and Moore reported the responses to a questionnaire sent to 104 patients with ileac stomas. It was estimated that 70 to 90% of patients who have undergone ileostomy obtain a satisfactory result from it, gratifying to both patient and surgeon. One of us (Bargen)