Cystoscopy with Deflux injection: what to expect

Cystoscopy with Deflux injection uses a small camera and an injectable bulking gel to support the valve where a ureter enters the bladder. It is generally used to manage urine flowing backward from the bladder toward a kidney, rather than to diagnose or treat bladder cancer. The clinician passes the cystoscope through the urethra, views the bladder, and places the gel beneath the ureter opening.

Deflux creates a small mound of material under the tissue around the ureter opening. This added support helps the opening close as the bladder fills and squeezes. The procedure does not remove the ureter or leave a ureteric tube in place. Your care team may arrange urine tests or imaging afterward to check drainage and whether backward flow persists.

Follow the fasting instructions provided if sedation or anaesthesia is planned. Tell the team about medicines, allergies, pregnancy possibility, urinary infection symptoms, and previous urinary procedures. Arrange transport if you will receive medicine that affects alertness. Afterward, drink fluids as advised and use only the pain relief recommended for you. Mild burning, urinary urgency, or a small amount of blood can occur briefly after instruments pass through the urethra.

Seek urgent medical advice for fever or chills, worsening pain in the side or back, repeated vomiting, inability to pass urine, heavy bleeding, clots, or symptoms that are rapidly getting worse. These features can indicate infection, urinary blockage, or another problem needing assessment. Use the discharge contact number for symptoms outside the expected recovery guidance; go to emergency care if you are very unwell or cannot reach the team.

Ask which ureter will be treated, what type of anaesthesia is planned, and whether a urine culture is needed beforehand. Clarify how the team will judge the response, when normal activity can resume, and whom to call overnight. It is also useful to ask what alternatives would be considered if backward urine flow continues.