Bladder training after surgery for stress urinary incontinence: is it necessary?

Eighty-nine consecutive patients with a clinically and urodynamically proved diagnosis of genuine stress urinary incontinence entered this study. Forty women had a revised Pereyra procedure and 49 had a Burch retropubic urethropexy. All had a suprapubic Bonnano catheter for postoperative bladder drainage. Postoperatively, patients were randomly allocated to "bladder training" (N = 44) or "nonbladder training" (N = 45) protocols. "Bladder training" consisted of scheduled clamping and unclamping of the catheter, whereas the "nonbladder training" patients had continuous bladder drainage throughout their postoperative period. Postvoiding residual urine volume was measured twice daily after the patient had voided with a symptomatically full bladder. The catheter was removed once residual volume was 50 mL or less. The bladder training protocol had no effect on resumption of spontaneous voiding after surgery. There was no significant change in length of postoperative bladder catheterization or in urinary tract infection rate among women with or without bladder training.