Computed tomography of the bladder
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Catheters
The walls of the bladder are better to be examined with a filled bladder. If you install a urinary catheter and insert a sterile water into the bladder before computed tomography of the bladder, it will perform the role of a low density contrast medium. In this case, local or diffuse trabecular compaction of the bladder wall, associated with prostatic hyperplasia, will be well defined. If a stent is attached to the ureter when a stricture or retroperitoneal growth is present, the distal end of the JJ stent can be seen in the lumen of the bladder.
Diverticulum
The diverticulum is usually located on the periphery of the bladder, and after the introduction of contrast medium it is easy to distinguish from the ovarian cyst. Jet phenomena (the phenomenon of a jet) can often be seen in the posterior basal cavity of the bladder. It arises from the peristalsis of the ureter. There is an injection of a contrasted portion of urine into the lumen of the bladder, which is filled with an unconfined, hypodense urine.
Solid tumor formations
Tumors of the wall of the bladder become easily visible after IV or intravesical administration of contrast medium. They have a characteristic uneven contour without the accumulation of a contrast agent. Tumors should not be confused with an intravesical clot of blood after a transurethral resection of the prostate gland. It is important to determine the exact size of the tumor and its infiltration into neighboring organs (cervix, ureter or rectum).
If a bladder is removed from the cancer, the urine reservoir can be formed from the small intestine (ileum reservoir), which is isolated from the digestive tract. Urine is excreted into the reservoir and then through urostomy into the urine collection
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