The urinary bladder is located in the abdominal cavity and is a hollow, muscular, balloon-like organ that stores urine. In females it is located anterior to the uterus and upper vagina. The male’s urinary bladder is located anterior to the rectum and above the prostate gland and is much higher than the females. Urine travels from each kidney down the ureter and drains into the bladder. The bladder is designed to store urine at low pressures and when it is full it empties, it does however need to be able to stretch to accommodate for increasing amounts of urine.
Some bladder problems may be as simple as an over active bladder or urinary incontinence which there are various treatments for. Other problems can be allot more serious and can result in a cystectomy or a partial cystectomy, which is the removal of the bladder. Reasons for a cystectomy can include, problems with nerve-muscle control of the bladder, damage from radiation or chemotherapy, damage or bleeding from other conditions, treatments, or injuries, and bladder cancer.
If a person were to have no bladder there would be no way for them to pass urine out of their body. So some type of urinary assistance must be put in place. A doctor could use a section of the small intestine to divert urine to a stoma, which is an opening to the outside of the body. The patient would then have to attach a bag to the stoma to collect and drain their urine. In some cases a neobladder can also be used, which is when a part of the small or large intestine is used to make a storage pouch that sits where the urinary bladder would normally be. The pouch can then be connected to the urethra and the patient is able to pass urine, it can also be connected to the skin on the abdomen by a stoma. The urine will then need to be drained by the person. Although there is urinary assistance available to people who need their urinary bladder removed there are allot of complications after surgery that can lessen a patient’s quality of life. Mild bleeding, discomfort and infections after surgery can be sort term complications. Some long-term complications depending on which urinary assistance is provided could be that the person may not be able to empty their bladder completely, males may not be able to have an erection, and there may be a loss of sexual feeling and orgasm for both men and women.
So yes you can live without your urinary bladder but urinary assistance will be needed, and there are many complications that can lessen the patients quality of life.