Foreign bodies in urinary bladder

Ten patients with foreign bodies in the bladder are herein reported from the urologic admissions of the Squier Clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Twelve foreign bodies were removed from these 10 patients. They consisted of three glass stirring rods, two hairpins, two umbilical tapes, one ball-point pen, one pencil, one rubber tube, one Penrose drain, and one bougie. Seven of these objects were self-introduced; the Penrose drain was left in the bladder during a previous suprapubic prostatectomy, and the two umbilical tapes used in previous gynecologic surgery had worked their way into the bladder. The clinical features, diagnostic maneuvers, and methods of treatment have been described, and the literature on foreign bodies reviewed.