Because of these drawbacks, this procedure is seldom performed. This conduit is then diverted to an opening in the abdomen called a stoma, through which urine is allowed to drain continually into an external collection bag. Urinary diversion eliminates frequency, but may not always result in elimination of pain. The urine is emptied from the pouch by self-catheterization four to six times each day. This is a type of diversion in which the bladder is removed, and a new bladder, constructed from a bowel segment, is connected to the urethra, replacing the removed bladder.
Patients then void through the normal urethral channel without the necessity of a catheter or bag.
The development of urinary incontinence is one possible drawback of this procedure. Possible complications of these procedures can include eventual kidney damage over a period of 15-20 years. A 1998 study reviewed the cases of 106 IC surgery patients. This study indicated that many augmentation patients continued to have urgency and frequency, and some were unable to void on their own, necessitating self-catheterization, which was often difficult. IC has also been reported to recur in the augmented bowel segment of these newly fashioned bladders.