{"id":22435,"date":"2020-06-15T10:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T10:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/?p=22435"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:34:27","slug":"continuous-bladder-irrigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/prostate-health\/continuous-bladder-irrigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuous Bladder Irrigation After Prostate Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"Continuous bladder irrigation may seem one of those scary medical names, especially if you feel nervous about your upcoming surgery. They say a tube will remain in your urethra<\/a>, and name blood clots and complications. But when you understand what this procedure is, you can calm down.\n\n\n\n\n\nIt could be a bit annoying, but it is not a dangerous or painful process. When you know what happens and how to get better, you can empower yourself to be an active part in your recovery.\n\n\n\n\n\nContinuous bladder irrigation is sometimes a required step after prostate surgery. It can also be used after bladder surgery, as in bladder tumor surgery. That\u2019s why we have dedicated a special article to describing it and clearing doubts.\n\n\n\n\n
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What is bladder irrigation, and why is it used?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nThe name continuous bladder irrigation or CBI can be broken down in three. Irrigation is the name doctors give to a flow of liquid. As a procedure, it consists of pouring water or a running liquid<\/a>.\n\n\n\n\n\nIt is sometimes a saline solution but can be a solution with antibiotics during surgery. We say CBI is continuous because the flow of pouring liquid is not interrupted. And the organ that is being irrigated or infused with water is the bladder. Hence the B in CBI.\n\n\n\n\n\nPutting everything together, CBI is the continuous infusion of irrigation solutions into the urinary bladder. This organ holds urine and has a continuous flow by itself. But after surgery, there is sometimes bleeding in the urinary tract. If we don\u2019t accelerate the continuous irrigation flow with additional liquids, we could get blood clots. Moreover, CBI can also help patients urinate<\/a> and prevent post-surgical complications.\n\n\n\n\n\nWith continuous bladder irrigation, your doctors are flushing out blood clots. In your bladder, they would aggregate and become a more significant clot. In time, they would cause obstruction or urination problems<\/a>.\n\n\n\n\n\nAdditionally, CBI helps patients get rid of microscopic calculi. These bladder stones may also aggregate and create big masses of minerals. But that problem is quickly dissolved by continuous bladder irrigation (1).\n\n\n\n\n\nIn some cases, CBI is not recommended because you\u2019re bleeding or creating bladder stones. It can be because your bladder is severely inflamed and irritated. You may have a urinary tract infection<\/a>. If that\u2019s the case, doctors may require to administer medicine directly to the bladder via CBI.\n\n\n\n\n\nAs you can see, multiple causes would make your doctor consider CBI. If you\u2019re not sure what is happening in your case, feel free to ask. It can be either to prevent clot retention and bladder stone<\/a> formation, to relieve inflammation, administer medications, or a combination of the above reasons (2).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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What will happen during continuous bladder irrigation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nTraditional Bladder Irrigation uses a Foley catheter<\/a>, which will be placed in the urinary bladder. The catheter used in CBI is a special type called triple-lumen catheter.\n\n\n\n\n\nTriple-lumen means that the portion that stays out of the urethra divides into three. So, it has one entry that stays inside the bladder, and on the outside, it is quickly divided into three parts. Each one of these ports has a different use, as you will see (3).\n\n\n\n\n