"Nick the Bladder"??

Hey guys,

Had my pre-op appt. today for Friday's surgery. One of the things my doc said was that in a woman who has had a c-section, it's more common to "nick" the bladder when trying to separate it from the uterus. He said he would repair it and I would wear a catheter for up to 10 days.

I guess I forgot to ask him the following: First of all, how common is this? And secondly, if I do get "nicked" and have to wear the catheter, is this something that would keep me from going home??

Thanks so much in advance,

Kara

Hi Kara It's not that common to have the bladder nicked during surgery, but it can happen. Sounds like your DR was doing a good job of informing you of the risks of your surgery.

If you need to wear a catheter for a while after the surgery, it won't keep you from going home. I had mine at home for a week after surgery and it really wasn't that big a deal.

s,
-Linda

thats one of the risks of surgery that your dr should tell you can happen, but its not all that common. just like a dr has to tell you that a lap surgery may be converted to abdominal..all risks should be discussed. you can come home with a catheter.

I'm so glad to know I can probably come home with a catheter, if that even happens at all. You guys are awesome. Thanks for your help.

Kara

My doctor told me the same thing, and I'm trying not to think about it. I hate the idea of having a catheter for that length of time, but I suppose I'll manage if it comes down to it. Ugh.

How bout we trade a prayer for each other? lol Sounds good to me.

Kara :xmas2:

I had my bladder nicked when I had my ruptured ectopic. I had a cath for 10 days. Around the house I had the big bag like at the hospital. I had a leg bag for when I left the house. It wasn't so bad except I had lots of overactive bladder issues after it came out.

How does that even work when you have a catheter at home? Do you have to remove it and insert it every day, or do you just keep it in at all times?

I'm kind of freaking out about this. In fact, it's the only aspect of the surgery I find myself worrying about. The last time I had a catheter inserted while I was conscious (during my urodynamics study in October), it was so painful for me that I fainted. It doesn't bother me coming out, but the insertion is just too much. Plus, I'm a full-figured woman (I like to think of it as extra-beautiful), and it's kind of hard to get a close-up look at what I'm doing down there.

Hi Kara
My bladder wasn’t nicked but I did come home with a catheter (twice) with my pelvic surgeries. It wasn’t a big deal for me either. As a matter of fact, I was glad to have it b/c I found a full bladder pretty painful for a while – not to mention how much it hurt when I couldn’t go. Chris had a good question… The catheter tubing exits the urethra to the thigh level, where it then joints a connection to either a large volume bag that will be hung at the bedside, chairside, or carried (below bladder level) …. but if going home with a catheter, a leg bag is usually provided as a collection option to change to for daytime use or when going out. The leg bag is smaller, attaches to the leg with straps, and can be worn under clothing pretty discretely. So, it’s just the collection bag that gets changed, not the catheter tubing that goes inside your body. *

*There are some women who do have to “straight cath” themselves, (insert a tube into their urethra each time the bladder is emptied,) so you may run across a post here & there where a sister does actually have to do that... but it's much less common than just coming home with a cath to allow the bladder to recover. With my recent anterior repair I came home with a foley, but when the foley came out I was given a straight cath kit too, because some ladies (especially those who’ve just had a suburethral sling placed) might have some additional issues for a while. Our bladders don’t like to be messed with so they can be fussy sometimes, but many women do just fine with no issues at all. I hope you are one of them.
Best wishes & gentle s,
Beth

I had my surgery five weeks ago yesterday and had the bladder nicking experience, so I had to have a catheter for 12 days after. It was kind of weird, but not at all painful. My doctor did prescribe a sleeping pill in the hospital and until the catheter was removed because it was a tad bit uncomfortable trying to sleep with that little hose strapped to my leg. But you'll get used to it, strange as that sounds. On the bright side .... it does save you all that walking back and forth to the bathroom. Kind of a cool feeling waking up that first morning at home realizing it was the first time in months I slept through the whole night without having to get up to go to the bathroom. A good friend who has bladder issues said she thought it would be a neat thing to have on a long car trip because you could drive for hours on end without having to stop and go potty all the time. LOL