Husband had TBI in Sept. 2017, catheter in for 7 months. Out for 3 now back in again.

Posted , 6 users are following.

Has history of enlarged prostrate, on medication, psa test normal before injury. Workers comp did have him classified as urine retention.Dr. did Cystoscopy and found the prostate is visually occlusive with a very large median lobe likely acting as a ball-valve to the bladder neck.

My question is if anyone knows that this could be a result of catheters in and out? He was in hospital for 5 weeks and then in an in house therapy. Very sedentary. Thank you for any help.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Gloria,

    I'm in a similar situation re enlarged median lobe and catheterize several times daily for 4 years so far while I'm waiting for some of these newer procedures to produce clinical results that make them worthwhile from a risk/reward perspective..

    I can't answer your question definitively but I do know that there are people who have catheterized thousands of times and do not have enlarged median lobe.

    Best of luck to you and your husband!

    • Posted

      Hi Arlington:

      I should probably know the answer to this because I read these boards quite a bit... but how do you know that you have a large median lobe?  Is it from a cystoscopy or what?  I have a blockage but never went through a procedure to tell me what it is.  I've been told by my GP that my prostate enlargement is not "that impressive" so I'm thinkin' it is probably the median lobe.  If I am holding too much for too long I get completely stopped up.  Can't get out a drop.  

    • Posted

      It was easily seen on MRI and CT scan (MRI much less downside).  Left no doubt about the cause of my problem.  The cure is another matter.

      Many on this site extol virtues of 3T MRI.

      Best of luck!

  • Posted

    I don't know about catheters causing enlarged median lobe.  There have been some people on this web site who have had the enlarged median lobe acting as a ball-valve to the bladder neck.  In particular Stan98754, who posted an MRI picture of his enlarged median lobe.  He has many posts on the discussion:   https://patient.info/forums/discuss/going-with-focal-laser-ablation-for-bph-552241?page=25

    He had Focal Laser Ablation, (FLA), done for it, which improved his condition.  Rezum is another procedure that works for a large median lobe.  There is also some experimentation with Urolift for pulling the median lobe aside, and some posts on the web site about it.

    Hope this helps,

    Thomas

  • Posted

    I had a TBI about 20 years ago. It took more than two years for me to become somewhat functional but I never did recover to my pre-accident levels. I think I was catheterized due to the TBI causing retention but I dont remember much of the first 6 months or so...

    Over time and with age I have again developed urinary retention due both to the brain injury an enlarged prostate.  I am being treated with Finasteride to reduce the size of the prostate and I've learned to self catheterize. I'd suggest your husband have a procedure called urodynamic testing. It can identify whether it is the enlarged lobe causing the retention or nerve damage or both.

    As you no doubt know a TBI is very unpredictable and treatment must be tailored to each individual. Good luck to you and your husband...

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