ummmmm......well was this Dr. Curley, Larry, or Moe? Forgive me but i've forgotten the stats on Jessica's Dad...can you give me a link to her old posts?
This is pretty wierd.
A Foley catheter will be placed in the space where your bladder was. This is a tube placed through your urethra to protect the healing of the suture lines that join the urethra and the neobladder. It is taken out about 3-4 weeks after surgery. It takes this much time for the neobladder to heal.
You will have two soft, long rubber drainage tubes called Jackson-Pratt (J-P) drains. They are brought out through the skin, one on each side of your abdomen. JP drains are used to drain old blood and fluid from around your neobladder. This helps to prevent infection. Nurses will measure the drainage. Your doctor will remove the drains after the drainage has stopped, most often within 2-3 days.
(my one tube came out pretty early, but the other was in for over a week as i drained continually with the one)
You will have a suprapubic catheter. This is a tube placed through your abdominal wall into the new bladder to keep it drained. It is removed in about 2-3 weeks.
You will have two small hollow tubes called stents (one for each kidney) to drain the urine from the kidneys while your neobladder is healing. The stents allow the urine to flow freely. The ends are brought to the outside through the same opening as the suprapubic catheter. They are connected to a drainage bag at the side of your bed. You will go home with the stents in place. They will be taken out when you come for your first clinic visit.
This is the usual!
Pat
