Surgeons in Sri Lanka have surgically removed a giant bladder stone weighing 3.1 kilograms from a 55-year-old male patient, according to BBC News.
The patient was initially admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke. During his clinical examination, medical staff noticed that he was experiencing problems with urination, prompting further diagnostic tests that revealed a giant formation inside his urinary bladder.
The extracted stone measured 18.7 centimeters in length, making it comparable in size to an ostrich egg and reaching the weight of a full-term newborn baby. Surgeons performed an operation to remove the mass from the man's body.
Record breaking mass
The surgical extraction established a new global record for the largest bladder stone ever documented. The previous record recognized by Guinness World Records belonged to a patient in Brazil, who had a stone weighing 1.9 kilograms and measuring 17.9 centimeters removed in 2003.
Guinness World Records monitors and validates world records across human achievements and natural extremes. Sri Lanka, an island nation located off the southern tip of South Asia, maintains specialized hospital facilities where patients undergoing emergency treatment for strokes can receive comprehensive diagnostic care.
Medical causes and development
According to the operating surgeon, the stone had been forming inside the patient's body over a period of five to ten years. The surgeon explained that such mineral formations arise when the urinary bladder does not empty completely, causing concentrated urine to crystallize over time.
The surgeon noted that small stones about the size of sand grains can exit the body naturally during urination. However, stones that exceed one centimeter in size block the outflow of urine and require surgical intervention to be removed.
In global medical practice, bladder stones larger than four centimeters are officially categorized as giant stones, making the 18.7-centimeter object removed in Sri Lanka an extraordinary case. Bladder stones, also known as vesical calculi, develop primarily when urine retention allows mineral salts to form solid crystals.
Patient recovery and history
Despite the severity of his condition and the unprecedented size of the mass, the patient feels well following the surgery. He remains in the hospital to undergo treatment for his other health conditions.
Giant bladder stones of this scale are extremely rare. In a previous notable case, a 56-year-old native of China lived with a 1.3-kilogram bladder stone for three years while suffering from severe pain before doctors removed it.
