If I may respond to @jackpine again, my father's experience with an indwelling catheter seems to mirror some of his concerns. My dad's prostate surgery led to scar tissue that blocked urine at the top of the urethra, and his only recourse was a "suprapubic catheter" thru a hole cut in the wall of his lower abdomen, just above the pubic bone. Dad was almost 80 when the catheter was emplaced, and he lived another 15 years with that fixture which was endorsed by a series of urologists as his only solution. He had several infections every year around the catheter where it passed through his body wall and dealt with them with treatments the urologists recommended, assisted by nurses at the long-term care facility where he lived more than five years. His passing came as something of relief for the family; he had descended into dementia in his last years and could not relate to us at all. Martin

Leonard, thanks for sharing this story about your dad. I'm with you re: indwelling catheters. The uro who likes them is less than useless; after the staff at this particular hospital failed three times to get me fitted properly with a catheter that didn't leak, I could see it was a losing proposition. I'm back on pads and condoms. Actually am also trying Pelvic Floor Therapy, in a last ditch effort to avoid an AUS.