Transurethral removal of a “neglected” Foley catheter with severe encrustation: a case report

Excerpt

A 64-year-old male who suffered from acute urinary retention due to benign prostate hyperplasia was referred to urology department, and was subsequently catheterized with an Fr16 catheter. Unfortunately, removal of the catheter was neglected, and the catheter remained in situ for the ensuing 6 months. The patients returned to our hospital with complaints of catheter blockage. When he presented to us, the catheter was found to be stuck and the balloon of the catheter could not be deflated. Ultrasonography revealed calcification of the balloon, but ultrasound-guided percutaneous puncture failed to deflate the balloon. So suprapubic cystostomy was performed to relieve urinary retention. Further evaluation with computerized tomography (CT) confirmed severe encrustation of catheter (Fig. 1), both intra-luminally and extra-luminally. An attempt to break away the encrustations on the outside of balloon was carried out after that. We passed a rigid Fr6.4/7.6 ureteroscope along the catheter to establish a working channel, through which a holmium 2,140 nm laser fiber was introduced to crush the encrustation. The balloon was deflated and the encrusted catheter was removed via the urethra successfully.

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