Bladder catheterization, male

Catheterization is accomplished by inserting a catheter (a hollow tube, often with an inflatable balloon tip) into the urinary bladder. This procedure is performed for urinary obstruction, following surgical procedures to the urethra, in unconscious patients (due to surgical anesthesia and coma), or for any other problem in which the bladder needs to be kept empty (decompressed) and urinary flow assured. Catheterization in males is slightly more difficult and uncomfortable than in females because of the longer urethra.

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Review Date: 12/21/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

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