Thirty-one patients who were five to ten years post-colostomy following abdominal-peroneal surgery for cancer were studied by interviews and Rorschach tests. Common clinical findings were distorted body concepts based on the conviction of having been severely injured. Men tended to view the anterior opening that bled as evidence of feminization. Women tended to view it as a second vagina. Coping with the idea of a shift from unseen bowel elimination to visual elimination was universally difficult. Somewhat startling was the typical Rorschach finding of a prepsychotic ego organization with confusion about body image, feelings of mutilation, and body violation. Effective repressive defenses were lacking.