Foreign Bodies in the Urinary Bladder and its Management: a Single Centre Experience from North India

This study was done to assess the nature, clinical presentation, mode of insertion and management of intravesical foreign bodies treated at our hospital. Between January 2008 and December 2014, 49 patients had been treated for intravesical foreign bodies at King George Medical University, Lucknow. All records of these patients were retrospectively analysed for the nature of foreign body, clinical presentation, mode of insertion and its management. A total of 49 foreign bodies were retrieved from the urinary bladders during study period. The age of patients ranged from 11 to 68 years. Thirty-three presented with complaints of haematuria (67.3%), 29 complained of frequency of urination and dysuria (59.1%) and 5 patients had pelvic pain (10.2%) The circumstances of insertion were as follows: iatrogenic in 20 (40.8%) cases, self-insertion in 17 (34.6%), sexual abuse in 4 (8.1%), migration form other organ in 4 (8.1%) and assault in four (8.1%). Thirty-three (67.3%) foreign bodies were retrieved by cystoscopy, and transurethral cystolitholapaxy was required in 10 (20.4%) patients, percutaneous suprapubic cystolitholapaxy in 4 (8.1%) and holmium laser lithotripsy in 2 patients (4.08%). Foreign bodies should always be kept in the differential when accessing a patient presenting with chronic lower urinary tract symptoms. A large percentage of foreign bodies can be retrieved using endoscopic techniques. Open surgical removal is done in cases where endoscopic techniques are unsuitable or have failed.