title: Urethral catheter removal 3 days after radical retropubic prostatectomy is feasible and desirable.
abstract: The purpose of this work was to assess the feasibility of urethral catheter removal 3 days after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). Twenty-two patients who underwent RRP with a watertight eight-suture vesicourethral anastomosis had their urethral catheter removed usually on postoperative day (POD) 3. The average day of urethral catheter removal was POD 3.2. At 3 months, 56% of patients required no or one protective pad to stay dry and 68.4% of patients 'never leaked' or 'leaked occasionally'. Following RRP, the urethral catheter can be removed as early as POD 3 if the intraoperative anastomosis is watertight without compromising urinary continence.
authors.affiliation: Section of Urologic Oncology, Urological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Albani
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Zippe
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D041382:Diapers, Adult / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000523:psychology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000453:epidemiology