Do not catheterise your nephrectomies

A retrospective study of 100 consecutive nephrectomy patients showed a 20% catheterisation rate. Of the 11 carried out post-operatively only 4 were for urinary retention. The post-operative catheterisation rate for males was 7.1% and for females 2%. The rate of post-operative retention was 4.4%, which is much lower than that reported from other units. This rate of post-operative catheterisation for retention is so low that in spite of the very mild increase in complications compared with intra-operative catheterisation, the practice of routine prophylactic catheterisation of nephrectomy patients is unnecessary and cannot be recommended.