Is catheter the culprit?

June 29, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I had gynecology surgery in December 2009 because I was having heavy menstrual cycles. An ultrasound showed a buildup of the uterine lining, so my gynecologist performed a D&C and a colposcopy, and biopsied a few spots. All the results were normal.

After the surgery, I was able to urinate a few times a day but retained two pounds of fluid for two days. On the third day after the surgery, I was finally able to eliminate all of the retained fluid and I urinated every 20 minutes all day long. Since then, I have noticed that my urine stream is weak. It has been five months since the surgery, and lately, when my bladder is full in the morning, I am not able to empty it fast enough, and it causes pelvic pressure and pain and sometimes cramping until it slowly empties. [Read more...]

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Dry Cath Insertions Potentially Harmful

December 15, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My 82-year-old father was recently hospitalized in a Midwestern city with complications from a blood disorder. Medical staff assessed the need for a urinary catheter. The insertion was done with a dry tube surface. When he asked if they could “put something one it”, the female nurse told him to “just take a deep breath”.

The insertion was done twice, both times without lubricant. One of the results was bloody urine. My poor father said “Just imagine being 82 years old and having somebody do something like that to you”. When he told his hometown doctor she just abut came unglued. A male nurse also informed him that he always “lubes the tubes”.

My father is now unable to urinate on his own because of a blockage which his urologist says may have been due to damage caused by the dry insertions. [Read more...]

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