Miracle and the cath is out!

Day 5 post Da Vinci

8:30 AM, I came home after taking our youngest to school and my husband says "we have a problem" he found a hole in his Cath tube, about 1 - 1.5 inches from his penis. I called the Dr office and they told us to come in. When he saw the Dr, he ordered an x-ray after locating the hole visually. They took his staples out, and then filled his bladder with water and a dye, then took x-rays to see if there was any leakage. Much to the Dr surprise, the bulb that is inside the bladder was not inflated. He says "there is not one reason this should have stayed in place, gravity should have taken it out once you stood up" I know it is corny, but I really believe the only way this stayed in place long enough for him to heal was all the prayer. Amazing. Either the bulb was never inflated in the OR, or that little hole deflated it (when we will never know) but of some reason, he healed enough to have the cath removed safely today. When they removed it, he was able to hold his urine. They had him empty his bladder, he was able to start and stop on demand, and then made the drive home (1 hour) without any leakage. He placed a pad when we got home, but hasnt had any leaking and has gone to the bathroom without issue. They replaced the staples with steri-strips. He states that the head of his penis is burning, any suggestions on how to help with this.

FYI, he states that there was no pain upon removal of the cath, but was the weirdest sensation.

I'll have to say this is the first time I've heard of a catheter staying in place once deflated.

The irritation may just be normal, but it never hurts to ask the doctor's office. When I had that, it turned out to be a UTI. Did they do a urine sample to culture? That is a normal part of the uro visit for me now. If it is external irritation, an OTC hydrocortisone cream might help. One thing to remember is still to keep it clean.

My uro also had me drink cranberry or cranberry-mix 100% juices - helps keep infections down. For me it has taken the place of my daily orange juice - that had to go to help the incontinence.

He will have some debris in the urine for quite a while as the urethra sutures heal.

Good to hear Good News!

I had great urine control for the first week after my cath. was removed. After that I started leaking like a hose. I figured it took a week for the inflamation to go down.

That is really an amazing story. I'm glad it worked out OK. I'm amazed that he has bladder control from the get go. I hope it remains that way.

Not only did my cath stay in once it was deflated but it couldn't be removed. So, sometimes gravity is not enough. The theory is that it was hung up on a stitch that hadn't quite dissolved. A day or two later the stitch gave way with a bit of a pop when I gave the cath a pull. Apparently, there can be more going on inside than we know.

Susan
So glad to hear of your husbands good news. I have followed your posts and have been pulling for you both. Sounds like he is on the road to a great recovery.
TTaylor