Foley catheter

In urology, a Foley catheter is a brand name for one of many brands of urinary catheters (UC). Foleys and their namesakes are indwelling UC, often referred to as an IDCs (sometimes IDUCs) or the alternative type being an in/out catheters (with only a single tube and no valves, designed to go into the bladder, drain it, and come straight back out). The foley UC was named after Frederic Foley, who produced the original design in 1929. The UC is a flexible tube if it is indwelling and stays put, or rigid (glass (very rarely) or rigid plastic(usually)) if it is in/out, that a clinician, or the client themselves, often in the case of in/out UC, passes it through the urethra and into the bladder to drain urine.

Foley and similar brand catheters usually have two separated channels, or lumina (or lumen), running down its length. One lumen, opens at both ends, drains urine into a collection bag. The other has a valve on the outside end and connects to a balloon at the inside tip. The balloon is inflated with sterile water or saline it lies inside the bladder to stop it from slipping out. Manufacturers usually produce Foley catheters using silicone or coated natural latex. Coatings include polytetrafluoroethylene, hydrogel, or a silicone elastomer – the different properties of these surface coatings determine whether the catheter is suitable for 28-day or 3-month indwelling duration. A third type of UC has three lumens for using for bladder washouts post prostate surgery: one lumen is for urine flow out, one lumen is for saline flow in (bladder washouts solution), and the third is for the balloon to be inflated.

Indwelling catheters/IDCs should be used only when indicated, as use increases the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (UTI) and other adverse effects. While female sex is generally recognised as a risk factor for UTIs, the differences in biological sex are reduced while carrying catheters.