A urinary catheter is a thin tube placed in the bladder to drain urine. Urine drains through the tube into a bag that collects the urine. You may be sent home with a catheter if you are not able to urinate on your own or during and after some types of surgery.

• If you go home with a catheter, you will be asked to come back to the clinic approximately one week after surgery to take the catheter out and have a voiding trial.
• A minority of women continue having difficulty emptying their bladder.
• The options then are to replace the catheter and have you come back in one week, or teach you or a family member how to do intermittent self-catheterization.
• When you have the catheter in place, the tube can be attached to a leg bag so that you can move around with ease.
• Make sure you empty the bag every time it fills up and before you go to bed at night