The Foley catheter or indwelling catheter (SAD) is a urinary bladder catheter. Find out how it works and when it is used.

An indwelling catheter (SAD) or so-called Foley catheter is a medical device. It is a urinary bladder catheter that allows you to do a permanent urinary catheterization. It is connected to a urine bag.

Composition

The Foley catheter comes in the form of a plastic tubing (latex, coated latex, PVC) with a body, a cuffed end and a cup. The size of the balloon varies depending on whether it is a model for adults (5 to 15ml) or for children (3 to 5ml).

The Foley catheter is a balloon catheter, used for bladder catheterization.

Bladder catheterization is the aseptic placement of a catheter into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine from the bladder. The Foley catheter allows permanent drainage from a few hours to a few months.

The Foley catheter or SAD is introduced through the urethra into the bladder and left in place for a period varying from a few hours to several months. It allows the permanent flow of urine which is collected in a urine bag which must be emptied regularly.

This bladder catheter is mainly used in cases of urinary retention, when the urination process is damaged either by a neuronal problem or by a muscle disorder.

Foley catheter indications

The Foley catheter is used:

• as a preventive measure (surgical intervention, for example spinal anesthesia). Nearly one in ten hospitalized people have a urinary catheter inserted;
• for therapeutic purposes (drainage during urinary retention, washing of the bladder, instillation of drugs);
• for diagnostic purposes (detection of a bladder residue, injection of contrast products, urodynamic examination, cytobacteriological examination of the urine).

Public concerned or at risk

The Foley catheter, which is an indwelling catheter, can be used in a person who is undergoing surgery, has urinary retention, who needs medication to be instilled into the bladder, or who needs to have diagnostic tests.

The stages of operation

If you need a Foley catheter, a member of the nursing staff first disinfect their hands with hydroalcoholic gel, then they perform urogenital cleansing with mild soap, then insert the catheter into the meatus. Finally, he inflates the balloon with sterile water or water. The probe is then attached to the woman’s thigh with an adhesive, to the man’s abdomen or thigh.

When to use it?

The Foley catheter is used when a permanent catheter is needed.

risks

Indwelling urinary catheterization is a major factor in urinary tract infections associated with care. Other risks with an indwelling catheter are tissue damage related to inflammatory reactions or lesions in the urinary meatus or urethra, deposits that may block the catheter, bladder stones, chronic irritation caused by indwelling catheterization prolonged, spasms of the bladder involving leakage or even displacement of the catheter.

If you have an indwelling urinary catheter or Foley catheter, there are a number of rules to follow:

• Wash hands or rub with hydroalcoholic gel before and after handling the probe;
• Make an intimate toilet per day and also after each stool (wash the mucous membrane, the meatus and the catheter);
• Rinse off with water and dry the area with a clean cloth. Reattach the catheter so that it does not interfere with movement, checking that the urine is flowing well;
• Empty the urine bag as soon as it is 3/4 full and use compresses soaked in antiseptic to empty the bag;
• The occurrence of abdominal pain, urinary burns, blood in the urine, fever, should lead you to contact the doctor or nurse.

Bladder catheterization has been practiced since Antiquity. The first traces of urinary catheterization are found in 3000 BC in Egypt. We also know that bladder catheterization was performed routinely in Greece in 400 BC with a bronze catheter.

The first rubber probes appeared in the 18th century.

Today there are different forms of probing: the indwelling probe (so-called Foley probe), the evacuator probing and the self-probing.

Creation of the Foley probe

The balloon catheter, known as the Foley catheter, was invented in 1930 by an American urologist, Dr. Frédéric Foley.