Removal of Foley Catheters in Live Donor Kidney Transplant Recipients on Postoperative Day 1 Does Not Increase the Incidence of Urine Leaks

 

 Buy Article Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Catheterization of the urinary bladder during kidney transplantation is essential. The optimal time to remove the Foley catheter postoperatively is not universally defined. It is our practice to remove the Foley catheter on postoperative day 1 in live donor kidney transplant recipients who meet our standardized protocol criteria. We believe that early removal of Foley catheters increases patient comfort and mobility, decreases the risk of catheter associated urinary tract infections, and allows for decreased hospital length of stay. The hypothetical risk of early removal of Foley catheters would be the increased risk of urine leak. We reviewed 120 consecutive live donor kidney transplant recipients and found that there was not an increased incidence of urine leaks in patients whose Foley catheters were removed on postoperative day 1.

• References

• 1 Morris PJ. Kidney Transplantation: Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 2001. 11. 168
  Google Scholar
• 2 Humar A, Dunn D. Transplantation. In: Brunicardi F, ed. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Co.; 2010: 271-312
  Google Scholar
• 3 Humar A, Matas AJ. Surgical complications after kidney transplantation. Semin Dial 2005; 18 (6) 505-510
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 4 Kaskarelis I, Koukoulaki M, Georgantas T , et al. Ureteral complications in renal transplant recipients successfully treated with interventional radiology. Transplant Proc 2008; 40 (9) 3170-3172
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 5 Nie ZL, Zhang KQ, Li QS, Jin FS, Zhu FQ, Huo WQ. Urological complications in 1,223 kidney transplantations. Urol Int 2009; 83 (3) 337-341
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 6 Englesbe MJ, Dubay DA, Gillespie BW , et al. Risk factors for urinary complications after renal transplantation. Am J Transplant 2007; 7 (6) 1536-1541
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 7 Fayek SA, Keenan J, Haririan A , et al. Ureteral stents are associated with reduced risk of ureteral complications after kidney transplantation: a large single center experience. Transplantation 2012; 93 (3) 304-308
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 8 Kayler L, Zendejas I, Molmenti E, Chordia P, Schain D, Magliocca J. Kidney transplant ureteroneocystostomy: comparison of full-thickness vs. Lich-Gregoir techniques. Clin Transplant 2012; 26 (4) E372-E380
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 9 Lo E, Nicolle L, Classen D , et al. Strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections in acute care hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008; 29 (1) (Suppl. 01) S41-S50
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 10 Maki DG, Tambyah PA. Engineering out the risk for infection with urinary catheters. Emerg Infect Dis 2001; 7 (2) 342-347
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 11 Glazer ES, Benedict K, Akhavanheidari M, James S, Molmenti E. Living donor renal transplant recipients tolerate early removal of bladder catheters. Int J Angiol 2009; 18 (2) 67-68
  Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar