Foley catheter problems

Posted By Dan Hoadley on March 14, 1999 at 14:05:49:







My mother-in-law, 84 years of age, suffers from incontinence as
the result of a stroke.  She has had a Foley catheter in place for
about a year now.  The catheter is irrigated regularly.  But, it
seems the catheter is plugging up more frequently than in the
beginning and is having to be changed more frequently.
It appears that part of the problem may be a large amount of mucous
in her urine.
I have some specific questions.  (1) is there any effecitve way to
reduce the amount of mucous?  (2) Does collapse of the bladder walls
contribute to this problem?  (3)Would insertion of a suprapublic
catheter alleviate this problem?
Any advise Would be greatly appreciated.