Prolonged catheterization after vaginal prolapse surgery

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the domestic use of a transurethral Foley catheter after discharge from the hospital in patients with urinary retention after vaginal prolapse surgery. METHODS: We reviewed 27 patients who used a Foley catheter at home after prolapse surgery. All patients were interviewed by postal questionnaire regarding their experience of this procedure. RESULTS: Of 263 vaginal prolapse operations 27 (11%) needed a prolonged catheterization period at home. In all but two patients micturition was successfully restored after removal of the catheter at a median of 13 days after discharge. Thirty-seven percent of the patients had experienced the catheterization period as unpleasant. Seventy-nine percent experienced no longterm bladder emptying problems, the others only mild and occasionally. CONCLUSION: Domestic use of a transurethral Foley catheter is a valid alternative to intermittent or suprapubic catheterization when normal micturition is not easily restored after vaginal prolapse surgery. It is, however, experienced as relatively unpleasant by more than one third of the patients.