Preoperative Administration of Tamsulosin for Prevention of Post Operative Urinary Retention in Males Undergoing Elective Inguinal Hernia Repair

Double blinded, randomized controlled prospective study looking at 2 preoperative doses of Tamsulosin an alpha-adrenergic blocker in preventing post-operative urinary retention. A previous study was conducted called "Effectiveness of tamsulosin inprevention of postoperative urinary retention: a randomized double-blind-placebo controlled study" This study involved a tertiary care center involving mostly urological surgical procedures. We look to specifically look at inguinal hernia surgeries in males. The aim of this study is to compare the prophylactic effect of tamsulosin with placebo on postoperative urinary retention. The drug is FDA approved for benign prostatic hypertrophy and urinary retention. It is on formulary at Genesys. Currently there is no standard procedure of prophylactic tamsulosin for urinary retention. Most often post operative patients are given tamsulosin to augment smooth muscle relaxation and spontaneous voiding if the patient is having urinary retention post operatively. We often straight catheterize patients once and start tamsulosin with the goal of avoiding urinary retention and future straight catheterizations or placement of foley catheters