Problem urinating after foley catheter removal

[Catanne1]

I removed the catheter at home after having surgery on the 13th of April. I have been unable to urinate so far.  Is this normal?

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

No, this is not usual. Please contact your physician (the one who placed this) immediately. You need to be evaluated today and may need the catheter reinserted.If you cannot contact this  physician, then go to the emergency room.
S.A.Liroff

[Catanne1]

My urologist informed me I have scar tissue on the opening to my bladder. I have to self catheterize every day. Is there a surgical procedure to correct this problem in females? (I cannot urinate on my own)

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

Scar tissue at the bladder neck is not common in women (and not in men either unless they have had prostate surgery). There is surgery for this in men, but I need to know more of your urologic history to comment more specifically.
S.A.Liroff, M.D.

[Catanne1]

I'm sorry. I guess I didn't explain that too well. I was told it was scar tissue to the opening of my bladder, but it is scar tissue in the urethra that is the problem. In 1998, I had the same problem and was told by that urologist that there was scar tissue. After surgery (bladder dialation and urethra, I believe), I never had a serious problem again until recently, although over the years since then, I have had an occasional bout with uti. (in 1998, I was unable to urinate at all and this time I was able to go a little and the frequency increased dramatically.

I hope this helps since I'm not sure exactly what it is you need.

Thank you so much for responding!

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

The intermittant self catheterization will keep you out of trouble (though you may get a bladder infection) in the short term while you heal from your recent surgery, but ulitmately you will need to have a full evaluation (if this has not been done already).
Urethral scarring (stricture) is quite uncommon in females (as we now know). There is surgery to correct this and it is usually a procedure for female urologists or reconstructive urologists. You probably need a urodynamic evalution to evaluate your bladder's function as well as evaluation of the length and caliber (opening size) and exact location of your sticture.
Hope this information helps.
S.A.Liroff, M.D.

[Catanne1]

Yes, You have helped a lot and I really appreciate it.  You have given me a ray of hope, since I was told I would have to self-cath the rest of my life.  Next step would be finding a urologist that could perform the surgery. I live near Nashville TN and hopefully there will be someone around here.

Any suggestions on finding such a urologist?

Thank you so much for your responses.

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

Please understand that I do not know exactly what your total problem is and that you may need further evaluation to determine what needs to be done.
Contact the medical centers in Nashville (usually associated with medical schools) and find their urology departments. Then make an appointment with someone sub-specializing in female urology.
Good luck!
S.A.Liroff, M.D.

[dr_osama_essa]

as told u dr stephen    
its beettter to consult yur urologest about this scar
and i hope that u will be on good condition

[Tinsel66]

My father has been in the hospital for 2 months for a heart condition.  At some points during these 2 months they tried to remove the catheter, but he was never able to urinate.  Just last Friday they went in and shaved some of his prostate since it was enlarged.  They removed the catheter on Tuesday and he was able to urinate 3 times that day, but by the evening he no longer could, so they put the cath back in.  Will this end up being permanent?  Prior to his hospital stay he had no problems with his prostate.