Issues after Catheter Removal

[tinycandi]

I recently had surgery...originally it was to be laparoscopic correction of rectal prolapse but after he started, he ended up having to open up my abdomen and taking out over a foot of my colon. I was in the hospital for four days...with a foley catheter that they took out on the 4th day before being discharged.

My questions are urinary-related questions.
For one, I've had problems urinating...getting started and feeling like I'm actually emptying my bladder. It almost feels as if I have to strain just to pee. Is that just a normal result that will go away? If not, I have a follow-up appointment on 5/11 with my colorectal surgeon and an appointment with my regular doctor on 5/21...is it a problem that needs urgent attention or can it wait until 5/21 when I see my regular doc?
For two, I have a lot of swelling in the clitoral hood ever since I had the catheter. Is that normal? If so, how long will it take to go away...and is there anything I should do for it?

Thanks in advance.

[sherrieP]

I can see where having a resection would have a huge impact on everything in your pelvic cavity and there would be a lot of swelling. I am hopeful that with a bit more time the swelling will go down and things will level off for you. The main thing is that you are communicating with your physicians so they can stay on top of the situation. Try to stay off of your feet with icepacks on abdomen when you can to encourage reduction of swelling. (Once I was a couple of weeks past surgery, heated bean bags actually felt better than ice but ice helped more in the early stages.)

[tinycandi]

It looks like the issues could be coming from the surgery repositioning all the organs in my abdomen, including my bladder. The problem could also resolve once the swelling/inflammation goes down. If not, the next step is to see a urologist. Hopefully between the antibiotics (which seem to be helping with urinating so frequently) and the swelling going down it will all be taken care of on its own.

[sherrieP]

I'm so glad the tests looked good! Good luck at the dr today, let me know how things turn out!

Sher

[tinycandi]

Thanks Sher. It turned out that my urine test looked good...all the tests came up negative. But with the frequent urination and everything he wanted to go ahead and put me on Microbid for 5 days to see if it helps. He (my primary care physician) said to talk to the surgeon about it today at my appointment because it's possible that something could have happened during surgery or it's possible that the swelling is affecting the bladder and/or urethra.

Thanks for the help Sher!

[sherrieP]

I am so glad to hear you called the dr and will be going in soon. (Also relieved to hear you knew about the resection!)

Are you drinking lots of water and cranberry juice? That helps flush the urethra and keep  bacteria from sticking.

Good luck Candi, I hope everything gets squared away!

Sher

[tinycandi]

Thank you for your response.

It wasn't a surprise that he removed a portion of my colon. The colonoscopy showed a very long and "floppy" colon and he anticipated removing a portion of it so I knew before the surgery that it was a possibility.

I called my doctor's nurse and will have an appointment with my primary doctor tomorrow regarding the urinary issues. She thinks that it's a bladder infection from the catheter. I've had enough urine coming out...it's just difficult to do so and there is a lot of pain and pressure in my lower abdomen and now a little in my back. Today I've had a lot of problems with frequent urination...sometimes going a dozen times in an hour.

It's really no surprise to me that I have an infection...as there was issue with it while I still had the catheter in the hospital. The tubing was long and wasn't draining right...they had to manipulate the tubing just to get it to drain in the bag. But the nurses would not remove/change the catheter despite me asking several times. I was quite swollen while I was in the hospital...but I will ask about the swelling on the hood while I'm there tomorrow.

Thank you again for the response.

[sherrieP]

Hi tinytcandi, welcome to the Urogyncology community!

I'm going to give you a few thoughts and then have administration transfer your post to urology; I think they can address your questions more accurately-this forum is for pelvic organ prolapse.

What was the reason they removed a section of your colon? This is not a normal part of rectocele surgery; if you haven't gotten a reason why I would certainly question it so you know the reason for the additional procecure.

It is normal to have quite a bit of swelling during surgery to the pelvic cavity and this can have quite an impact on your ability to have urine come out without a cath. Typically with POP surgery, they will remove the cath prior to leaving the hospital, have you try to pee to see how much urine comes out and if it is not enough, reinsert the cath and you go home with it for an additional 4-7 days. You then go back to your physicians office and have it removed when you go in for your 1st post--surgical checkup. You might need to have the cath reinserted, it is important to get the urine out so you don't set yourself up for any kind of infection. I would call your surgeons office asap to ask them what you should do, they should be able to guide you. Do not wait until your appt, check this out right away on Monday. I'm not sure why you would  have swelling on the clitoral hood, I  would ask the dr this question as well. Any aspect of the labial/rectal area can have irritation post surgery depending on what all procedures were done, have you iced any of these areas post surgery? This should have been done right away after surgery and what you can do at home is get premie diapers and open one end, fill them with ice, and put them in the crotch area-this should help reduce swelling. The diapers should absorb ice melt off water and the soft fabric side provides some cushion to tender tissues.

Good luck, please check with your dr for additional info Monday and I'll notify admin to forward your post to urology for their feedback.

Sher