When pigs fly.

Well, I cleaned my catheter today, and there seems to be no sign that the glans are fusing back together. I caught it too late to do anything about it this time around. Who knows what other surprises there might be once I remove my bandage on the 6th? Hopefully no more surprises...

I just got off the phone with my doctor, who is also disappointed of this situation, but thinks that it still has a chance to heal together and/or grow out (I don't believe that, but I've been wrong before!) He's also thinking that the catheter is now pointless and is thinking about having me remove it.

What does this mean? Well, for the short term (while things heal up), I'll probably have a meatotomy. Cool party trick, eh? But appealing? BARF! On the positive side, my urethra will be able to accommodate larger sounds/dilators than before (Fozzie, are you listening?); on the negative side, the shape and functionality of my glans will be irregular. For the long term; if things don't miraculously heal together, it's another trip to Atlanta for dick work. :-( Not that I don't like visiting David, I'd like to come home without a bandage on, just once!!

---

And now for something completely different...

The Ultimate LiveJournal Obsession Test
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I had a long chat with Dr. David just around lunchtime, we discussed many options and possibilities. First and foremost, there's most likely no need for me to wear a catheter any longer, in fact, it could be causing hesitation on behalf of the glans healing now. Any benefit from the catheter is outweighed by the possible damage it could be doing. So at 13:00 today, I took the catheter out. For those of you not familiar with removing a catheter, once it's been inflated, even after you deflate the balloon, the end of the tube has stretched out and is larger than when it went in -- so gently pulling it out, inch after inch, is an experience like no other. It's kind of like giving birth (I would guess.) I did this, quietly, in the men's room at work -- I got a little light headed (to be expected!) as it passes over the prostate! The image on the left is the top and bottom of an inflated foley catheter. The balloon side is what is in the bladder. As for the "Y" connectors on the other side, the wider one is there the urine exits, the one with the pale green cap is where you inflate the balloon with sterile saline from (once inserted into the bladder.) That is the end that you also remove the water from when removing the catheter. The largest concern is that the catheter does not deflate (see Methods for Removing a Nondeflating Foley Catheter for details.)

It takes a little while for the body to get used to "closing" your urinary sphincter; so some dripping over the next few hours is to be expected. Also, since the urethra was in an odd situation for the past 10 days, pissing will sting the next few times I void.

We're hoping that the meatotomy will close itself up in time, and that everything under the compression bandage is in good health. If the meatotomy does not close, further surgical work will be needed -- perhaps something that I can be guided through though...