Doctors in Sri Lanka have removed a massive 3.1kg bladder stone from a 55-year-old man, with the medical team believing it could be the largest bladder stone ever removed through surgery.
The unusual procedure was carried out last week at Trincomalee General Hospital in eastern Sri Lanka after the patient was admitted following a stroke.
While treating him, doctors noticed that the man was experiencing difficulty urinating and subsequently discovered stones in his bladder.
During surgery, doctors removed a stone weighing approximately the same as a full-term newborn baby. It measured around 17cm and was described as being roughly the size of an ostrich egg.
Dr Prahalahan Balakrishnan, who led the operation, told BBC Sinhala that available records suggested the stone could be the largest bladder stone ever documented and surgically removed.
Despite the size of the stone, the patient was reported to be in “very good health” following the procedure. He remains in hospital while continuing treatment for his other medical conditions.
Dr Balakrishnan estimated that the stone could have remained inside the man’s bladder for between five and 10 years.
Bladder stones develop when minerals in concentrated urine crystallise and form solid masses. They can occur when the bladder fails to empty completely, allowing crystals to build up over time.
While smaller stones may sometimes pass naturally, larger stones can obstruct the flow of urine and require medical treatment. Stones measuring more than 4cm are generally classified as giant bladder stones.
The previous Guinness World Records entry for the largest bladder stone involved a patient in Brazil in 2003. That stone weighed 1.9kg and measured 17.9cm long.
The stone removed in Sri Lanka weighed significantly more at 3.1kg, although formal confirmation of a new world record has yet to be established.
