What Is Involved in Male Catheter Removal?
Male catheter removal involves draining the urine bag, draining the water balloon holding the catheter inside the body and gently pulling the catheter out of the urethra, according to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. It is important to wash the hands before draining the urine bag and before draining the water balloon.
Two types of male catheters are fairly commonly used in medicine, an indwelling or Foley catheter and a condom catheter, according to Healthline. The condom catheter is an external cap held over the penis with an elastic band. These are easy to remove by simply removing the band and rolling the catheter down the penis. Removing a Foley catheter takes a little more effort.
Supplies need to be gathered, including a syringe without the needle, towels, a wastebasket and optional gloves. Before removing the catheter, empty the urine bags into the toilet. Make sure to wash hands before and after draining the urine bag.
Inside the bladder is a small water balloon that is holding the catheter tubing in place. The syringe is attached to the balloon port about midway up the catheter line and the water balloon should start filling the syringe as it empties. It is okay to just empty the syringe into the sink, as this is simply sterile water. Once the water balloon is completely empty, gently pull the catheter tubing out of the urethra.
If the tubing doesn’t come out with gentle pulling, it may be necessary to go to the emergency room to have the catheter removed.
