I have the largest experience with this device in the United States and beyond. I’ve been using T-SPeC® for more than 10 years/400+ cases and have written two papers on the device. T-SPeC® has been a game changer in my practice and I could not imagine practicing urology without it. I perform suprapubic catheter for short term drainage (typically in my reconstructive surgical cases), long-term drainage (for those needing long-term urinary drainage) and in efforts to avoid CAUTI in the hospitalized patient needing catheter drainage for more than two weeks. This is typically patients that are going to be admitted to the ICU and require intubation for severe illness (COVID, CHI, Sepsis…).

The T-SPeC® works amazingly well and was simple to use. I found the T-SPeC® created a faster, easier, and safer tract for suprapubic cystostomy catheter placement. It required less anesthesia when compared to other cystostomy kits I have used for more than 10 years. I had a lot of optimism for the T-SPeC® device when I first heard about an ‘inside-to-out’ cystostomy kit — T-SPeC® exceeded my expectations.

The device will play an important role in my practice to allow a safe and minimally invasive procedure to place a suprapubic catheter in my patients with urinary retention and incontinence. The current cystostomy kits use an ‘outside-to-in’ technique that does not always allow accurate placement of the catheter and has been shown to cause rare but serious complications such as small bowel perforation that can result in sepsis and even death. The T-SPeC® utilizes the safer and innovative passageway, ‘insideto-out’ technique, allowing reliable catheter placement and equally important — virtually eliminates the risk of small bowel injury.

As a surgeon, we look for three main goals, safety, efficiency, and outcomes. The safety of T-SPeC® is great. It is easy to use as long as you follow the protocol – the step by step instructions is reliable.  The efficiency, in less than ten minutes, you will be out of the O.R. And, the outcomes are consistent with all the procedures I have done with T-SPeC®.

As a surgeon, I have done the older technique, which is a blind technique by placing a suprapubic tube without a real localization of the bladder, but just by palpation. With the T-SPeC® it is certainly more safe, but the outcome for the patient is more consistent.

Now that I have been using the T-SPeC® for over a year and a half, I don’t think I would go back to the older technique.