Foley catheter

The Foley catheter is a urinary catheter with a balloon at its distal tip, which is inflated post-insertion to ensure that the catheter remains in the bladder. Originally inflation of the balloon required the instillation of fluid or air via a separate port, next to the external end of the catheter, but modern catheters have a built-in reservoir which can be used to inflate the balloon.

Complications

Insertion of a Foley catheter is a common procedure, but still caries risks of complications, either during insertion or after , including:

• traumatic insertion
  • pain
  • stricture
  • hemorrhage
  • creation of false passage
  • bladder perforation
• malposition
  • urethral placement
  • ureteric placement (rare)
    • increased risk in neurogenic bladder, long-term catheterization, intra-operative placement, undistended bladder or non-routine catherisation (e.g. during guide-wire assisted insertion (Blitz Technique) or micro-tip catheter insertion during cystometry)  
  • false passage placement
  • vaginal placement
• urinary tract infection
• catheter fragment retention

It should be noted that small locules of gas in an anti-dependent position are commonly observed (mostly on CT) in the bladder of recently catheterized patients, and alone are not a sign of complication .

History and etymology

The American urologist Frederic EB Foley (1891-1966) first provided details of his now eponymous "hemostatic bag catheter" in an article in 1929, although in a later paper stated he had developed it in 1927 . It was originally introduced as a way of controlling perioperative and postoperative hemorrhage during and after a cystoscopic prostatectomy. He continued to refine it and in an article in 1937 described his improved "self-retaining bag catheter" .