I have a biology background and took microbiology so know that sterilization is important. Yes, you should clean the bags, I used a bleach solution, and wipe down any surfaces like end of the tubes before connecting. And keep the tube clean. Others here spoke of lubricating the penis tip and some use antibiotic ointment like Neosporin. My doctor said Vaseline is fine. Even in spite of all that, I still got a UTI which I understand happens in 2-3% of cases. The whole procedure and recovery is quite invasive allowing for bacteria to find their way in. The UTI caused some pain and spasms for a few days but antibiotics helped. Just having the Foley catheter in your bladder, along with the trauma to the entire area, upsets the whole system for a while. Everyone recovers differently. I'm glad for time off and the ability to work from home. I'm a 2.5 weeks post surgery and today was a good day - stayed completely dry! Even had a few hints at natural erections without starting Viagra yet. But it takes work to do kegels, stay clean, eat right, keep bowels regular (very important given location of rectum - don't strain).

Anyone contemplating this surgery should have a complete understanding about what's going to happen and how to prepare and recover. I'm glad to have the cancer out. My pathology came back worse than biopsy and my dad was diagnosed and treated at age 58. It was a good decision for me.

Hospital sent me home with an extra stat lock. However, I bought from Amazon a Velcro stat lock instead of the hospital provided glue one. I used isopropyl alcohol to clean the bag (externally) and I did not swap out bags and alcohol wipes to clean the Foley catheter that connects to the bag. Used lidocaine on the tip to avoid any uneasy feeling where catheter came out of the body. These all worked well for me. I drank a lot of water every day (like four 20 oz glass of water) until catheter came out.

@soli & @surftohealth88 -- Frankly, at 1 year since surgery I didn't remember much about cleaning the bag. My wife says we definitely followed the hospital instructions for swapping bags and cleaning the used bag and hanging it up to dry. Also, she said that was something she took care of for me, so maybe that's why I don't remember it very well. She didn't remember exactly what she used to clean it but she said the hospital team gave good instructions and gave us a kit. But my wife added using disposable gloves and disinfectant wipes for a bit of extra sterilization. She also made the comment that cleaning the bag was something a patient might need help with since it's a little more physical than just swapping bags, especially during the first few days after surgery. She particularly mentioned that the kit contained a catheter tubing clamp that was useful when swapping bags. I think by "adhesive stat lock" they mean the device to support the tubing so the bag tubing doesn't pull on the catheter. If so, there are 2 types: adhesive or elastic. The kit the hospital gave us had an elastic one and I think the hospital staff threw in an extra. The elastic strap worked real well, but I did notice it tended to slide down during the day so I had to adjust the tension and generally keep an eye on it to make sure it hadn't slid down. But it did work well. Best wishes.