Life Healthcare is a leading private hospital operator in South Africa and primarily serves the market for privately insured individuals, representing approximately eight million people. The group provides mainly acute care, high technology private hospital services.
Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital is a large Provincial government funded hospital situated in central Mthatha in South Africa. It is a tertiary teaching hospital and forms part of the Mthatha Hospital Complex.
The extensive hospital network includes 64 hospitals (of which 57 are majority owned by Life Healthcare and another seven in which the group holds substantial minority ownership), providing a range of healthcare services throughout South Africa.
Behavioral Changes
Some of the behavioral and lifestyle changes that help to reduce symptoms caused by urinary retention include:
The double voiding technique, in which patients wait for a brief time after emptying the bladder and try to urinate again
Biofeedback, which helps patients urinate without the bladder becoming full
Bladder training and pelvic muscle exercises
Medications
The doctor may prescribe various medications that help in treating the muscles that control urination, and reducing obstruction that causes urinary retention.
Sacral Neuromodulations
Sacral neuromodulations is a form of reversible treatment in which a tiny neurotransmitter is implanted inside the patient’s body. The device propels electrical pulses that affect the sacral nerves, which help to reduce symptoms. This method may be used by patients if they find that other forms of treatments are not helpful.
Catheterization
A flexible tube, known as a catheter is used to drain urine out of the bladder. The catheter is inserted through the urethra into the bladder. This is am immediate form of treatment to prevent damage to the bladder. The duration of the use of a catheter depends on the cause of urinary retention. For instance, urinary retention caused by surgery may be cured after the effects of anesthesia decline. In chronic urinary retention, the catheter may need to be used continuously. The patient will be required to learn sterile technique to prevent UTI.
Thermal Ablation
Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation may be recommended for male patients, who are above the age of 50, and who have benign prostatic hyperplasis (BPH). This is a minimally invasive form of treatment that delivers low-level radiofrequency energy through two needles into the prostate gland. Some of the tissues in the prostate gland are destroyed using thermal ablation and symptoms of urinary retention are improved.
Surgery
Surgery to reduce the prostate size in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) may help in improving the symptoms of urinary retention. Surgery may also be done to open up the urethra if the prostate gland is causing pressure and blocking it.
Enlarged Prostate Treatments
Urinary retention caused by an enlarged prostate may be treated by treatments to reduce the size of the enlarged prostate. These treatments include self care, medication, surgery and other less invasive treatments and therapies.
Cystocele or Rectocele Surgery
Cystocele and rectocele repair in female patients may also reduce the symptoms. An incision is made in the vaginal wall to detect any puncture on the fascia, which disconnects the other pelvic organs from the vagina. The fascia is repaired using sutures that make it strong enough to support the pelvic organs. The incision on the wall of the vagina is closed with stitches.
Urethral Stricture Treatment
Urethral stricture in male patients is treated with a procedure known as dilation. The urethral stricture is widened using tubes that are inserted into the urethra. Alternatively, the stricture may be treated by inflating a balloon inside the urethra using a catheter.
The urethral stricture may also be opened by internal urethrotomy. In this procedure, a catheter is inserted into the stricture and a knife or laser is used to cut open the stricture.
A stent, which is a tube with a wire mesh, may also be used in male patients to open the urethral stricture.
What are the possible complications of Urinary Retention treatment?
The complications that are most common in urinary retention treatments are as follows:
UTI caused by the usage of a catheter
UTI is cause by bacteria that enters the urinary tract. Bacteria may enter from the anus, perineum or the hands of the person who inserts the catheter. Using sterile technique is very important during catheterization.
Incontinence and erectile dysfunction after prostate surgery
Erectile dysfunction and incontinence may be experienced after prostate surgery. These side effects are mostly temporary. Bladder control is achieved in a few weeks or months after the surgery. Patients may recover from erectile dysfunction within one year after the prostate surgery.
About Urinary Retention Treatment
Key facts to plan your treatment: how long it takes, your hospital stay, anaesthesia, risks and recovery.
Recovery
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After care
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