My Foley Balloon Won’t Deflate!

​Sometimes when it's time to remove a Foley catheter, the balloon won't deflate. This problem occurs more commonly in patients with long-term Foley catheters. Even though we have all seen nursing home patients present with penile bleeding after pulling out their Foley catheter with the balloon still inflated, that is obviously not an option for emergency physicians. The problem is that the recalcitrant balloon is sitting out of reach, deep in the urinary bladder.The cause of the balloon malfunction can be anywhere along the catheter, but it's usually found in the balloon inflation port, the balloon drainage channel, or the balloon itself. A commonly reported cause of the problem is using saline to expand the balloon. With time, salt crystals from the saline precipitate in the various locations responsible for deflation failure.A urologist named Frederic Foley, MD, developed his eponymous catheter in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was originally an open system, but was turned into a closed system with a bag in the 1950s. I suspect that we are pretty much familiar with the catheter parts, which include the balloon inflation port, the urine drainage port, the inflatable balloon to anchor the catheter in the bladder, and the tip or bladder opening.Catheters can be made of rubber, plastic, or silicone. The balloon volumes range between 5 mL and 30 mL. There are also straight single-use catheters, the curved or coudé catheter, and a three-way Foley catheter for administering...
Source: M2E Too! Mellick's Multimedia EduBlog - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs