Suprapubic Catheterization of the Urinary Bladder as A Diagnostic Procedure

Suprapubic catheterization of the spontaneously filled urinary bladder was attempted 149 times on 135 patients with a success rate of 96%. The degree of bladder filling was easily and accurately estimated by ultrasound technique. A commercial Teflon catheter, threaded on a needle, was easy to use and caused only a few complications; the leakage was insignificant. Nearly 95% of the subsequent cystometries and/or cystographies could be carried out completely. We consider the suprapubic approach to be at least as good if not superior to the transurethral route when investigating bladder function.