What is a nephrostomy catheter?
A. A nephrostomy catheter goes through your skin into your kidney to drain your urine. In some cases, the urine drains out of your body into a drainage bag. In other cases, the catheter drains the urine into the bladder and there is no bag on the outside. Reasons to need a nephrostomy catheter include: blockage of the ureter (the structure that normally carries urine from the kidney to the bladder), presence of a hole in the ureter, and preparation for surgery or other procedures on the kidney and ureter.
