Self-Cath Necessary After Sling?

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)."

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Age 60 at dx 7/2017 biopsy G8 (4+4), 5/13 cores
RARP 8/2017 (Patel), pT3a N0 M0, 30% tumor; EPE+, SV-
PSA 1/2016, 2.9; 4/2017, 7.2; 9/2017 (post-RARP), 0.13; 10/2017, <0.05, 1/9/2018, 0.09, 2/23/2018, 0.08.
SRT 72Gy, 40 fractions, finished 5/8/2018, plus 12 months ADT, finished 2/2019, PSA <0.02, T=4
Caution: I’m not an MD and don’t know what I’m talking about.

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!

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Age at Diagnosis: 56
RALP on 2/17/15, BJC St. Louis, Dr. Figenshau
58.5g, G3+4, 20%, 4 quadrants involved
PSA Non-Detect since April, 2015
My Story: www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=3300024

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?

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.

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.