When the patient wakes up, he will have a catheter in his bladder. The catheter is a tube that goes through the penis to the bladder and is called a Foley<SUP> </SUP> catheter. The Foley catheter protects the sutures that are placed in the urethra. 10 days to 2 weeks after the operation, when the surgeon feels that the urethra is well healed, the catheter is taken out. This is usually done in the urologist's office.