When to call your doctor

Here are the signs and symptoms to watch for when returning home.

Wound infection

(Notify your surgeon and inform your local CLSC if)

• Redness
• Heat
• Drainage
• Swelling
• Pain
• If you experience chills and fever (over 38.5°C or 101.3°F), go to the emergency room.

Urinary tract infection

(Notify your surgeon and inform your local CLSC if)

• Burning sensation when urinating
• Persistent sensation of an unemptied bladder
• Feeling of heaviness and discomfort above the pubic bone
• Frequent urination and urinary urgency
• If you experience chills and fever (over 38.5°C or 101.3°F), go to the emergency room.

Stenosis (narrowing) of the urethra or bladder neck

(Notify your surgeon or the on-call urologist if)

• Difficulty urinating
• Feeling of incomplete bladder emptying
• Decreased size of urinary stream

Thrombophlebitis

(Go to the emergency room and inform your surgeon or the on-call urologist if)

• Pain and tenderness in one calf that worsens when walking
• Localized redness

Pulmonary embolism

(Go to the emergency room immediately if)

• Sudden onset chest pain resembling angina
• Difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Rapid pulse
• Coughing
• Sweating

Infections (various)

(Go to the emergency room and inform your local CLSC if)

• Fever (over 38.5°C or 101.3°F) on repeated occasions with a 4-hour interval between each measurement
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and bloated abdomen

If your catheter falls out before its removal date

(Go to the emergency room immediately)

• Do not reinsert your catheter if it falls out; go to the emergency room
• Do not allow anyone to remove your catheter without your surgeon’s permission

If you are worried and feel increasingly unwell by the hour

• Contact INFO-SANTÉ at 811
• In case of emergency, call 911
• If you cannot reach your surgeon, go to the emergency room