Foreign
bodies in the bladder
The commonest foreign body is a fragment of catheter balloon (see
above). The variety of foreign bodies which have been removed from the bladder
is astonishing, for example manicure stocks, hair clasps, hairpins and candle
wax. Occasionally, a foreign body enters through the wall of the bladder, for
example nonabsorbable sutures used in an extravesical pelvic operation. The
diagnosis rests on cystoscopy, and in the case of radio-opaque foreign bodies on
radiography.
Complications
of a foreign body in the bladder
• Lower urinary tract infection
• Perforation of the bladder wall
• Bladder stone
Treatment
A small foreign body can usually be removed per urethram by means of an
operating cystoscope. Occasionally, a suprapubic approach using the percutaneous
insertion of a cystoscope is needed.