The short answer
After prostate surgery you go home with a urinary catheter, usually for 1 to 3 weeks. Keep the bag below your bladder and secure the tube. If no urine drains for an hour, call your surgeon.
MedlinePlus says the catheter is usually removed after 1 to 3 weeks. Your surgeon sets the date.
A leg bag is worn during the day. A larger bedside bag is used at night.
The bag must always sit below the level of your bladder.
Attach the catheter to your thigh with a strap or fastening device.
On this page
Choose how you want to read this
The whole article, with every detail and caution.
This page is for men going home with a urinary catheter after prostate surgery, and for the people helping them. It covers daily care, common problems, and when to call. It draws on MedlinePlus (NIH) patient instructions. It does not replace your surgeon's instructions.
Why you have a catheter
A radical prostatectomy removes the whole prostate. You go home with a catheter, a tube that drains urine from your bladder into a bag.
How long it stays
MedlinePlus says the catheter is removed after 1 to 3 weeks. Your surgeon sets the date. Before you leave the hospital, confirm three things: the date of removal, where it happens, and a phone number for problems after hours.
Two bags, two jobs
You may be given two kinds of drainage bag, one for the day and one for the night.
The leg bag is worn in the daytime. Attach it to your thigh with Velcro or elastic straps. MedlinePlus says to empty it at least two or three times a day, or when it is a third to half full.
The bedside bag holds more, so it works overnight. Your team will show you how to switch bags and how to empty them. Ask them to show you before you go home.
The rule for both bags: keep the bag lower than your bladder. That stops urine flowing back into the bladder. MedlinePlus also says to disconnect the catheter as little as you can. Keeping it connected to the bag helps it work better.
Securing the catheter
MedlinePlus says to attach the catheter to your inner thigh with a special fastening device. Ask your team to show you how. Check the tubing before you stand from a chair or get out of a car.
Bladder spasms
You may feel spasms in your bladder while the catheter is in. Your surgeon can give you medicine for this. Ask your team about it. First check that the tube is not kinked or pulled. MedlinePlus says to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, eat fruits and vegetables, and take stool softeners. Do not strain during bowel movements.
Blood, grit and debris
MedlinePlus says the urine in your bag may look darker red, and that this is normal. Call your surgeon if you notice more blood in your urine, or grit or stones in it. Check with your surgeon before you take aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen or similar medicines. MedlinePlus says they may cause blood clots in your urine.
If it stops draining
Urine should be draining and filling the bag. MedlinePlus says to contact your surgeon if you have not seen any urine drain in an hour. Check that the bag is below your bladder. Check that the tubing is not kinked, twisted, or trapped under your leg or a waistband. Drink water. Then call your surgeon or urology nurse right away, day or night, if no urine drains.
Do not try to flush or remove the catheter yourself. Do not let anyone who is not trained in post-prostatectomy care remove it.
When to get help
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you cannot pass urine and the catheter is blocked or has fallen out, and you cannot reach your surgical team quickly. Also go if you have heavy bleeding, large clots, or shaking chills with fever and you feel very unwell, or if you are suddenly confused or hard to wake.
- Call your surgical team right away, day or night, if no urine has drained in an hour, the catheter seems blocked or has fallen out, or you cannot pee at all after it is removed.
- Call your surgical team right away, day or night, for any sign of infection. MedlinePlus lists a temperature above 100.5°F (38°C), fever or chills, burning when you urinate, pain in your sides or lower back, and urine that smells bad or is cloudy. Use 100.4°F (38°C) as your line, because the lower number is the safer one. A normal temperature is not a reason to wait if you have other signs.
- Call your surgeon if your belly pain does not go away with pain medicine, it is hard to breathe, you have a cough that does not go away, you cannot drink or eat, your surgical cuts are red, warm, bleeding or draining pus, you have pain, redness or swelling in a leg, you have pain near the catheter, or urine leaks around the catheter. If breathing is very hard, call 911.
Everyday life
MedlinePlus says to wash the skin around the catheter gently each day. Ask your surgeon about showering. Do not soak in a bathtub or hot tub, and do not swim, while you have a catheter. Do not drive for the first 3 weeks after you come home. Do not lift anything heavier than a 1-gallon (4 liters) milk jug for the first 6 weeks.
After the catheter comes out
MedlinePlus says you may have burning when you pee, blood in the urine, frequent urination, an urgent need to pee, and some leakage. It says this should improve over time, with almost normal bladder control within 3 to 6 months. You will learn Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles in your pelvis. Ask your team when to start. Bring pads to the removal appointment.
Sources
Common questions
How long will the catheter stay in?
MedlinePlus says the catheter is removed after 1 to 3 weeks. Ask your surgeon for the date and where it will happen before you leave hospital. Also ask for a phone number to use after hours.
Is it normal to see blood in the urine?
MedlinePlus says urine in the bag may look darker red, and that this is normal. Call your surgeon if you notice more blood, grit or stones in the urine, or if your surgical cuts are bleeding. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for heavy bleeding.
What are bladder spasms and what can I do?
MedlinePlus says you may feel spasms in your bladder while the catheter is in. Your surgeon can give you medicine for them. Ask your team about it. Check that the tube is not kinked or pulled.
Can I shower?
MedlinePlus says you may shower if your cuts were closed with stitches, staples or glue. Ask your surgeon what is right for you. Do not soak in a bathtub or hot tub or go swimming while you have a catheter.
What happens after it comes out?
MedlinePlus says you may have burning when you pee, blood in the urine, frequent urination, an urgent need to pee, and some leakage. It says you should have almost normal bladder control within 3 to 6 months. You will learn Kegel exercises. Call your surgeon if you cannot pee at all.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Talk with a trained specialist or navigator
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
Talk to a trained cancer information specialist
Free, confidential assistance from NCI Cancer Information Service via phone, chat, or email.
Contact your oncology team
Locate after-hours contact numbers, portal messages, or urgent triage phone lines.
Find a patient navigator
Get one-on-one help with appointments, logistics, translation, and care coordination.
Find a genetic counselor
Discuss inherited mutation risk, family history, and genetic testing options.
Find an oncology social worker
Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
Find a financial navigator
Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
Find a clinical-trial specialist
Search matching studies and speak with NCI trial information specialists.
Get urgent help
Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher during chemo, severe pain, or trouble breathing: call your cancer care team right away, day or night. Call 911 for an emergency.
Know someone who needs this?
Plenty of people are looking for something like this and do not know where to start. If this would help a friend or someone you love, send it on — we have written an opening line so you do not have to stare at an empty message. You can change every word of it.
Your message is written and sent in your own email or messaging app — we never see who you send it to, and nothing is added to any list.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Written by: Cancer ExplainedSources last checked: 2026-07-30 what this meansLast updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-01-30
Review details and limits
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Source checked. This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
General education — varies by person. Answers genuinely differ between people. This page explains what commonly varies and points you to your care team for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Read more about our editorial process, our use of AI, and our corrections policy.
Spotted a problem? Report an error — a factual mistake, broken or outdated source, confusing wording, or anything that seems unsafe. Please do not include names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying medical information in your report.
After using this page, do you understand what to do next?
Anonymous — we only record the answer, never who gave it.