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Self-Cath Necessary After Sling?

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Posted 8/25/2019 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
I’ve been looking into getting a sling. The urologist that I work with in my home state says that he’s done a lot of them, and in every case, the patient needs to self-cath for a while afterwards (I think he said a month or so) as they cannot urinate otherwise. After that period, it gets to where they can push the urine out naturally.

Dr Eid (who did my penile implant) says that doctor must be doing them too tight, as he’s never had that be an issue (his sling recipients have not had to self-cath).

I’m wondering what common experience here has been, among guys who have gotten the sling. I need to pick a doctor in my home state to do this, but want to know what reasonable expectations of outcome are first.

I’d love to just go back to Dr. Eid for the sling, but I can’t afford to do that, as insurance will not cover that since he’s out of state.
Posted 8/26/2019 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
I bet the truth is somewhere in between "in every case" and "never." Google searches turn up studies and patient info pages on urology websites mentioning urinary retention right after a sling operation as requiring a Foley or intermittent self-cath for a short while. This from a British Columbia urology practice: "It is quite common to experience difficulty voiding immediately following surgery. about 1 in 3 patients will need to self catheterize intermittently for up to a few days after surgery. Alternatively, in men who are reluctant to learn self-catheterization, a catheter can be left in for 2-3 days after surgery. It is not uncommon to feel some mild slowing in urination for a few days up to a few weeks after surgery. It is very rare to experience urethral obstruction by the sling. If voiding difficulty lasts longer than a few weeks after surgery, the possibility of obstruction may be investigated further with cystoscopy (rare)."
Posted 8/27/2019 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Saipan,

That’s useful info. I’d still love to here some first-person stories from guys who have gotten slings.
Posted 8/27/2019 8:06 PM (GMT 0)
Andrewski,

There are a few guys in here who have had slings put in, but I can't think at the moment of who they are. There seems to be a certain amount of art to it: it needs to be tight enough to work, but not so tight that it doesn't allow anything to happen.

Good luck!
Posted 8/28/2019 5:38 PM (GMT 0)
A month or so ago, and following successful RP and ART over 25 years ago, my 81 year old father just had a sling put in and only had to have a catheter in for about a week. No issues after that and he is now good as new.
Posted 8/30/2019 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks guys,

Italatin8,
Was your dad self-cathing for a week, or was this one put in during the surgery and kin for the week?
Posted 8/30/2019 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Andrew:

It was the one inserted during the procedure. He stayed in the hospital overnight and when they removed it the next day he could not urinate on his own yet. So, they reinserted it and left it in for just short of a week.
Posted 8/31/2019 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
I see. Honestly, having the cath in for a few more days sounds like a better option than putting one in myself a few times a day.
Posted 9/2/2019 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
I did not have a sling, but I did self-cath for a couple of months around a TURP surgery. It wasn't fun, but you get used to it and it is not bad. Be careful to have impeccable hygiene as you don't want any UTIs. My doc used a company called 180 Medical for the supplies and they were absolutely superb in helping me get stuff in a pinch and find the right type and size for me. Great company and customer service. They were founded by and still run by a spinal chord injury victim, and many of the representatives I talked to were also users of their products. It shows. I am happy not to have to use them any more, but it is nice knowing they are around.
Posted 9/2/2019 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
I had the Advance Sling put in several years ago. The day after when the cath came out, I could not pee so they put the Foley back in. Over a month long period I had the Foley removed twice and then had to be recathed because of fluid retention. After removing the cath the third time, I leaked at about twice the rate as I did before the sling. I ended up getting an AUS. I would do anything necessary to get the AUS rather than the sling.
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