Urinary retention can happen after hip and knee replacement surgery.  It is more common in males than in females.  If urinary retention occurs, the patient is given a “trial” to urinate where the patient is helped to a bathroom and the patient attempts to urinate. If the patient is still unable to urinate, the patient gets a “straight catheter”, which means that the catheter is inserted into the bladder the urine is drained and the catheter is immediately removed.
If the urinary retention recurs after straight catheterization, it is possible to place the straight catheter again to drain the urine. It is rare that the urinary retention continues and if it does, then the patient can be placed on a “continuous catheter” and discharged home or to a rehab place to be followed up with a urologist.  There are drugs like Flomax, which are started in the hospital to help with urinary distress in males.  Urinary retention occurs typically in males who have had prostate trouble in the past.  It is rare in male patients who have not had prostate trouble before the surgery.