Postoperative Care Instructions for Bladder Augment

The below instructions are general guidelines. Specific changes or instructions for your child may differ. Please follow instructions given to you by your surgeon and CHOC Urology staff.

Thank you for choosing CHOC for surgery. Bladder augment procedures are performed in an operating room and are completed on an inpatient basis. Patients will require about a one-week in-hospital stay after the surgery.

Diet

Patients only consume clear liquids immediately after surgery and then progress to a regular diet as tolerated. The anesthesia can cause some stomach discomfort and nausea.

Pain management

Patients will be managed for pain while in the hospital. Patients may be sent home with Tylenol #3 to be taken as needed for pain. If the doctor prescribed Tylenol #3 (with codeine) tablet or elixir, please try to give it to the patient as little as possible because codeine can cause constipation, which can be painful. Miralax is an over the counter stool softener and can be used to relieve constipation if it occurs. Whenever possible, try to use Ibuprofen (also known as Motrin or Advil) instead of the Tylenol #3. Do not take Tylenol #3 and Tylenol at the same time – this can be an overdose and is harmful. If needed, Ibuprofen and ONE Tylenol product can be taken within the same time period. Should you have questions regarding dosage and timing of pain medication after surgery please contact our office.

Incision care

The child’s post operative care will take place while in the hospital by the CHOC staff. Should there be any bandages or drains in place upon your child’s discharge from the hospital caregivers will receive specific instruction on how to care for them.

Activity restrictions

For two to three weeks after the surgery the child should avoid trauma to the surgical area and avoid rough-housing, contact sports, bicycle riding or physical education. Further activity restrictions will be provided to you upon your child’s discharge from the hospital.

Catheterizations

The child will resume clean intermittent catheterizations (CIC). Caregivers are instructed how to this and how often before the child is discharged from the hospital. This will allow the child’s bladder to empty on a regular basis. Learn more about clean intermittent catheterizations.

Bladder Irrigations

Due to the nature of a bladder augment, which commonly uses a piece of the intestine, the bladder will produce mucous. This mucous will need to be cleared out of the bladder frequently. Caregivers will be provided specific instructions regarding how much water to flush the child’s bladder with and how frequently this will be completed. This flushing of the bladder is referred to as bladder irrigation. Learn more about bladder irrigation.

For more information on how to prepare children of all ages for surgery and what to expect the day of surgery, please read our comprehensive surgery guide.