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Case Report
Intraperitoneal bladder perforation presenting as small bowel obstruction in a patient with a chronic indwelling catheter
1 Department of Urology, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, USA
2 Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
Address correspondence to:
Timothy W Wright
Honolulu, HI,
USA
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Article ID: 100061Z15TW2026
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Wright TW, Li M, Salter CA. Intraperitoneal bladder perforation presenting as small bowel obstruction in a patient with a chronic indwelling catheter. J Case Rep Images Urol 2026;11(1):11–14.ABSTRACT
Introduction: This case describes an unusual presentation of a bladder perforation following a routine catheter exchange in an elderly patient with a chronic indwelling foley catheter.
Case Report: The patient presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension 10 days after routine exchange of his indwelling foley catheter. He was subsequently diagnosed with a small bowel obstruction. On imaging, he had a transition point at what was potentially the tip of the foley catheter protruding outside of his bladder versus the foley in a small bladder diverticulum. He ultimately required multimodal imaging, cystoscopy, and exploratory laparoscopy for diagnosis. Intraoperative findings ultimately demonstrated an intraperitoneal bladder perforation with the small bowel wrapped around the protruding foley catheter.
Conclusion: Intraperitoneal bladder perforation can present without classic precipitating factors and should be on the differential diagnosis for a patient with bowel obstruction and a recent urinary catheter placement.
Keywords: Bladder perforation, Case report, Chronic indwelling catheter, Small bowel obstruction
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Author Contributions
Timothy W Wright - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Mengchuan Li - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Carolyn A Salter - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Disclaimer
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The investigators have adhered to the policies for protection of human subjects as prescribed in 45 CFR 46.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2026 Timothy W Wright et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
