New use of foley catheter for exposing the urethral stump during vesicourethral anastomosis in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
OBJECTIVE
To describe a technique to facilitate the urethral stump exposure and aid the suture placement of vesicourethral anastomosis during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.


METHODS
A 10-F Foley catheter is introduced in an antegrade fashion via the 12-mm suprapubic midline port into the urethral stump. The catheter balloon is positioned in the bulbous urethra and inflated with 2 mL of sterile water. With the balloon inflated, the Foley catheter can be gently pulled by the laparoscopic forceps, and thereby the urethral stump is everted and becomes clearly visible.


RESULTS
Six patients underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with this technique. No complications developed during follow up.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of a Foley catheter for laparoscopic vesicourethral anastomosis is simple and easy and provided good surgical results in our experience.
Chen
Wen Ming
WM
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC. wmchenster@gmail.com
Cheng
Chen Li
CL
Ou
Yen Chuan
YC
Yang
Chen Kuan
CK
Chen
Chuan Shu
CS
D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D013537:Sutures; D014521:Urethra / Q000601:surgery*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000601:surgery*; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods