The first weeks after urethroplasty are about protecting the repair while it heals around the catheter.

Your catheter

• The catheter usually stays about 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes longer after complex repairs.
• Only my team should remove or replace this catheter. A new catheter placed by someone else can damage the repair. If you go to an emergency room, tell them you had a urethroplasty and ask them to call us.
• Clean where the catheter enters the penis twice a day with mild soap and water.
• Keep the bag below your bladder. Use the leg bag during the day and the larger bag at night.
• Tape or strap the tubing to your thigh so it doesn't pull.
• Bladder spasms, a little blood in the urine, and some leakage around the catheter are common.

The incision

• Swelling and bruising of the scrotum and the area behind it are normal and can take a couple of weeks to fade.
• Ice for 20 minutes at a time over the first 2 days. A cushion helps when sitting.
• You can usually shower after 48 hours. Pat the area dry. No baths or pools until I clear you.

Activity

• Walk every day from the start.
• No heavy lifting and no straddle activities (bicycle, motorcycle, horseback riding) until I clear you, usually several weeks.
• No sex until I clear you.
• Avoid constipation and straining: drink fluids and use a stool softener.

Taking the catheter out

Before removal, you'll have an X-ray dye test around the catheter to confirm the repair has healed. After removal, you'll have flow tests at follow-up visits over the first year to make sure the stricture hasn't come back.

Call right away

Call the office at (516) 535-1900, or go to the nearest emergency room after hours, if you have:

• The catheter stops draining and your bladder feels full or painful
• Fever over 101°F or chills
• Swelling that keeps growing, or pus from the incision
• Heavy bleeding or large clots in the urine
• After removal: you can't urinate, or your stream gets steadily weaker

Your own instructions come first

Every patient is different. If the instructions you got at your visit or at discharge differ from this page, follow those, and call the office at (516) 535-1900 with any question.