What a patient can expect after bladder surgery can vary from to person to person, as well as from the specific reason for the bladder surgery. Some will recover by simply having to rest and allow the area to heal on its own, while others will have to contend with a probe being constantly hooked up. Catheters will be inserted in some cases, and various changes to the diet may be implemented. In some severe cases, blood clots can also develop, which will need anything from medication to more surgery, depending upon the severity of it.
The most complicated surgery in the bladder area that may be required is when a tumor is found. The recovery process after bladder surgery of this kind will usually be decided by a chemo-therapist. As this surgery method requires introducing a catheter through the intestine, some time might be required for total recovery. For the first two or three weeks no control over the urination process will be possible. Depression might develop during this time, so the recovering patient will have to be strong and to remember their condition is only temporary, and that control of the bladder will return within time.
The second kind of surgery that may be required is when high urine retention is diagnosed. This surgery is not very complicated, and the only after care that can be expected after bladder surgery in this instance is that a probe will be installed for two to three weeks after it has been completed. Urine retention will still be present, but in smaller quantities. If normal control of the bladder does return within a month after the procedure a second surgery may be required.
In some rare cases, blood clots might appear after bladder surgery. In this case, there are two possible solutions. A surgeon will remove the clots and the dead tissue around them, or medicine will be prescribed to loosen the clots so that the body can remove them on its own. Blood clots are one of the most life threatening occurrences that can happen after surgery, so any signs of numbness, skin coloring changes, and pains not normally associated with recovery will need to be immediately checked by the surgeon.
A temporary bladder problem might appear as a result of a mechanical accident. This is the simplest kind of bladder surgery, and it only requires the introduction of a catheter into the bladder. The only complication that may arise from this procedure is that complete bladder control may be lost for a few weeks, and it is possible to get a urinary tract infection from the presence of the tube. After bladder surgery of this kind it may be required to spend large amounts of time in bed or sitting in a recliner in order to decrease the amount of movement to the catheter.