Open Access

ARTICLE

A practical approach to the difficult urethral catheterization for urology trainees

Wyatt MacNevin^1,*, Daniel T. Keefe^1,2, Karen Milford^1,2, Nicholas R. Paterson¹

1 Department of Urology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
2 Division of Pediatric Urology, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada

* Corresponding Author: Wyatt MacNevin. Email:

Canadian Journal of Urology 2025, 32(1), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.32604/cju.2025.064697

Received 05 October 2024; Accepted 31 December 2024; Issue published 20 March 2025

Abstract

Urethral catheterization is an important skill to develop as consultations for “difficult catheterization” are common in practice. Developing a broad approach to difficult urethral catheterization is crucial to improve trainee success rates. Strategies and techniques to improve catheterization success are often passed down and shared between trainees without formal documentation or dissemination of techniques. Herein, we present a framework for difficult urethral catheterization based on clinical history and patient examination, while also providing additional techniques and troubleshooting to overcome common challenges with urethral catheterization in adult and pediatric patients.

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Keywords

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