To assess the differences in patient-reported, catheter-specific satisfaction and quality of life with either suprapubic or transurethral postoperative bladder drainage following reconstructive pelvic surgery. This was a prospective study of all eligible women who were scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery requiring bladder drainage during the study period November 2013 to March 2015. Women who did not undergo the planned procedure(s) or did not require bladder drainage were excluded. The primary outcome was patient-reported quality of life using catheter-specific instruments including the Catheter-related Quality of Life (CIQOL) instrument, and a modified version of the Intermittent Self-Catheterization Questionnaire (ISC-Q), designed to evaluate aspects of catheter-related quality of life and satisfaction specific to the needs of the individual. A total of 178 women were analyzed, 108 in the transurethral catheter group and 70 in the suprapubic group. Women with suprapubic bladder drainage had higher quality of life and satisfaction scores than women with transurethral bladder drainage as measured by the ISC-Q (68.31 +/- 16.87 vs. 54.04 +/- 16.95, mean difference 14.27, 95 % CI 9.15 - 19.39). There was no difference in quality of life by the CIQOL. After regression analysis, women with suprapubic bladder drainage were more satisfied with their catheter-specific needs despite longer duration of catheter use, more concurrent continence surgery, and higher trait anxiety. Differences in catheter-specific quality of life and patient satisfaction scores favoring suprapubic bladder drainage support its continued use in appropriately selected women for treatment of temporary postoperative urinary retention after reconstructive pelvic surgery.