As far as the schedule of when to empty, if the child has the ability to sense when their bladder is full, we feel that that’s a big bonus to that child’s health care. Aside from that, and in a patient who doesn’t have this ability, we would give them certain guidelines for timing, and most of those guidelines are very similar to the schedule of a child who can void through the urethra. If we would want most children to go to the bathroom and pee every two or three hours, we might want this same child who has a catheterizable conduit and a catheter to follow the same schedule. So that’s how we would present it to the family and the child: we say this is when you normally need to empty your bladder, and it just happens to be a different way than your brother, your sister, your classmate, your mother, your father.

Joseph Borer, MD, Department of Urology

I usually work with families and let them know if you miss a catheterization, it’s not the be-all, end-all, but this is our goal – to catheterize four times a day. I don’t want them to inhibit their social life by doing this procedure; it’s just to help them empty their bladder. If they’re going to go to a sleepover, they should try to cath before they go and then when they get back in the morning if they’re embarrassed about taking a catheter with them. We can work around these issues. If they need to catheterize at school, some children freak out: “I don’t want to take this to school!” Well, how late are they there? If they’re going home right after school, they may not need to. If they’re in school until 6:00, or have afterschool programs, then that’s another issue. It’s about working with families individually and figuring out the best schedule for them.

Diane Manning, RN, Department of Urology