Who invented foley catheters

See J Med Eng Technol. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract For more than years, urinary catheters have been used to drain the bladder when it fails to empty. Keywords: Urinary catheters, adverse events, infection, biomaterials, research agenda. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Figure 2. Table 1. Some important events in the history of the development of the urinary catheter. Date Devices and comments Reference BC Earliest record in an ancient Egyptian papyrus the Ebers papyrus of treatment of urinary retention by means of transurethral bronze tubes, reeds, straws and curled-up palm leaves.

Hanafy et al. Milne [ 2 ] 79 AD An S-shaped silver tube was found during the excavation of Pompei, evidently for the treatment of urinary retention. Nacey and Delahunt [ 3 ] s Malleable silver tube with numerous side holes which, according to Albucasis Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi — , apparently resulted in easier insertion.

These were often hard to pass and rigid wood or metal tubes were alternatively used. Herman [ 5 ], Hume [ 6 ] s First record by Fabricius of Acquapendente — of indwelling wax-impregnated cloth catheter moulded on silver sound, to reduce incidence of damage due to repeated catheterization.

Later, wound silver wire was used to prevent collapse, with external grooves filled with wax, tallow or bound with fine gut. Putrefaction of the chamois skin was a major problem. Murphy [ 7 ] Cornelius van Solingen — devised a silver wire helical tube covered with parchment held in place by silk thread and coated with wax. Mattelaer and Billiet [ 9 ] s Jean Louis Petit — devised a silver tube with double curve.

This device was less satisfactory than its immediate predecessors. Petit [ 10 ] Jacques de Garengeot — devised a silver tube with pronounced curve and fine stylet with small terminal rounded tip to occlude the lumen during insertion. However, the varnish soon cracked, there was no method for reliable retention and they soon became blocked by encrustation. Later, Benjamin Franklin used it personally when suffering from the same condition.

It was retained by adhesive tape or by a stitch although neither method was satisfactory. In the device constructed by the C R Bard Company to the design of Dr Frederic Foley, a rubber balloon was attached with fine silk and waterproof cement close to the tip of a rubber catheter with a longitudinal groove which accommodated a fine tube to inflate the balloon with water.

Foley [ 14 ] Introduction of catheters constructed from silicone elastomer, reducing the incidence of urethritis and the rates of encrustration and infection.

Mangelson et al. These can reduce the risk of catheter-induced urinary tract infection, but only by 2—3 weeks. Maki and Tambyah [ 16 ].

Bladder function and catheterization The urinary tract system Figure 3 produces, stores and excretes urine from the body. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. The principal adverse events—some of which are serious—for which the Foley catheter is responsible are as follows: 4. Bacterial colonization The flow of urine through an indwelling catheter may be continuous or intermittent. Antibiotic resistance The use of antibiotics to control catheter-induced infections contributes significantly to the development of resistant strains, about which the World Health Organization WHO has expressed grave concern [ 43 ].

Kidney and bladder damage Invasion of the bladder by urease-producing bacteria, particularly Proteus mirabilis , results in the conversion of urea in the urine into ammonia [ 35 ]. Figure 6. Bladder stones The crystals of struvite resulting from Proteus mirabilis infection act as nuclei for stone formation within the bladder [ 52 ]. Pseudopolyps Insertion into the urethra of a hard unyielding catheter, with its balloon and its protruding tip perforated by drainage eyes, transforms the natural process of intermittent drainage.

Septicaemia The physical trauma caused by the catheter tip and the suction at the drainage eyes can damage the normally impermeable bacterial barrier provided by the urothelial lining of the bladder see Section 4. Urethral trauma The process of inserting the catheter requires skill and practice, if urethral trauma is to be avoided [ 56 ].

Balloon fragments There is the risk that the catheter balloon may burst, either during insertion or withdrawal particularly by a demented or disorientated patient or when it is indwelling [ 58 ]. Commentary Several of these adverse events are demonstrated in a video presentation that can be accessed via the internet [ 59 ]. The scale of the burden of urinary incontinence 5. Incidence of adverse events It is a profoundly disturbing statistic that healthcare-associated urinary tract infections are estimated to have caused 13 deaths in hospitals in the US in [ 68 ].

Economic implications A rigorous analysis of economic costs of urinary retention, incontinence and catheterization is beyond the scope of this review.

Taking into account the data presented in this review, as well as other analyses [ 82—84 ], the following research agenda can be proposed: The catheter should be easy to insert and withdraw. Figure 7. Declaration of interest R. References Hanafy H. Ancient Egyptian Medicine.

Contribution to urology. Surgical instruments in Greek and Roman times. Oxford: Clarendon Press; The evolution and development of the urinary catheter. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery. Early Arabian medicine. Urology: A view through the retrospectoscope.

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Silicone rubber uses in the lower urinary tract. Engineering out the risk for infection with urinary catheters. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Medicine: Perspectives in history and art. Alexandria: Ponteverde Press; A Toll-like receptor that prevents infection by uropathogenic bacteria. Clean intermittent self-catheterisation in the treatment of urinary tract disease. Clean intermittent self-catheterisation in adults.

British Journal of Urology. External catheter use and urinary tract infections among incontinent male nursing home patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Complications of external condom drainage. Urinary incontinence: Healthcare resource consumption in Veterans Affairs medical centers. Veterans Health Systems Journal. Development of the condom catheter method for non-invasive measurement of bladder pressure.

Current trends in the management of difficult urinary catheterizations. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. The surgical risk of suprapubic catheter insertion and long-term sequelae. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. BJU International. Nursing Mirror. Cytotoxicity of latex urinary catheters. Latex allergy manifested in urological surgery and care of adult spinal cord injured patients.

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Hydrophilic-coated catheters for intermittent catheterisation reduce urethral micro trauma: A prospective, randomised, participant-blinded, crossover study of three different types of catheters.

European Urology. Kink, flow and retention properties of urinary catheters part 1: Conventional Foley catheters. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine. Why are Foley catheters so vulnerable to encrustation and blockage by crystalline bacterial biofilm? Urological Research. Systematic review: Antimicrobial urinary catheters to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection in hospitalized patients.

Annals of Internal Medicine. Clinical complications of urinary catheters caused by crystalline biofilms: Something needs to be done. Journal of Internal Medicine. Types of urethral catheter for reducing symptomatic urinary tract infections in hospitalised adults requiring short-term catheterisation: Multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of antimicrobial- and antiseptic-impregnated urethral catheters the CATHETER trial.

Health Technology Assessment. A large randomized clinical trial on a silver-impregnated urinary catheter: Lack of efficacy and staphyllococal superinfection. American Journal of Medicine. Can we build a better urinary catheter? New England Journal of Medicine. An automatic bladder irrigator. The activity of the urinary bladder as measured by a new and inexpensive cystometer. The methods and results of treatment in cases of paralysis of the bladder following spinal injury.

British Journal of Surgery. Antimicrobial Resistance Global Report on Surveillance. Geneva: WHO; Traditional Foley drainage systems — do they drain the bladder? The encrustation and blockage of long-term indwelling bladder catheters: A way forward in prevention and control. Spinal Cord. Modulation of crystalline Proteus mirabilis biofilm development in urinary catheters.

Journal of Medical Microbiology. Strategy to control catheter encrustation with citrated drinks: A randomized crossover study.

Neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injury. Blockage of urinary catheters: Role of microorganisms and constituents of the urine on formation of encrustations. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. Effect of triclosan on the formation of crystalline biofilms by mixed communities of urinary tract pathogens on urinary catheters. Reduced susceptibility of Proteus mirabilis to triclosan. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Bladder catheterisation. British Journal of General Practice. Influence of drainage conditions on mucosal bladder damage by indwelling catheters. Pressure study. Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. Catheter-induced hemorrhagic pseudopolyps of the urinary bladder. Journal of the American Medical Association. The current management of septic shock. Minerva Medica. Incidence and prevention of iatrogenic urethral injuries. Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

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Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Preferences preferences. Cloud, Minnesota, Frederic Eugene Basil Foley did not aspire to be a doctor from the time he was in diapers.

A year later, he was admitted to the medical school of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, graduating in He stayed to continue his studies by scrubbing in to surgeries and exploring pathology with Dr. After two years, Frederic moved to Boston, Massachusetts and secured a position as a laboratory assistant at Harvard University in the Department of Surgical Research.

Frederic was considered a "pioneer" in medicine, as he developed seven urologic devices, including his renowned Foley balloon catheter. Frederic Foley and rubber chemist R.