3.1-kilogram bladder stone removed from 55-year-old man in Sri Lanka

Doctors in Sri Lanka removed a giant bladder stone weighing 3.1 kilograms from a 55-year-old man. Specialists say it may be the largest stone of its kind ever recorded in medical history.

The complex surgery was performed last week at a hospital in the city of Trincomalee, in the eastern part of the country.

The 55-year-old patient had been admitted to hospital for treatment after suffering a stroke. However, while he was receiving treatment for his primary condition, doctors noticed that he was having difficulty urinating. Tests revealed stones in his bladder.

The specialists then decided to perform surgery. During the operation, doctors removed the giant stone from the patient’s bladder. It weighed 3.1 kilograms and was nearly 17 centimeters long.

The stone’s size was also astonishing. It weighed as much as a full-term newborn baby and was roughly the size of an ostrich egg in appearance.

Dr. Prahalahan Balakrishnan, who led the operation, told BBC Sinhala that according to available medical records, this was the largest bladder stone ever surgically removed and documented.

The doctor said the patient’s current condition was “very good.” The man remains in hospital and continues treatment for his stroke and other medical problems.

Dr. Balakrishnan said the giant stone may have formed in the patient’s bladder over a period of approximately five to ten years.

Bladder stones form when minerals in urine crystallize and turn into hard masses. This often happens when the bladder cannot empty completely. As a result, the urine becomes concentrated, allowing its minerals to form crystals.

Small stones, even those the size of grains of sand, sometimes pass out of the body on their own. However, stones larger than 1 centimeter often make urination difficult or block the flow of urine. Medical intervention may therefore be needed to remove them.

Experts classify bladder stones larger than 4 centimeters as giant stones. From this perspective, the 17-centimeter stone removed in Sri Lanka was truly enormous.

According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest bladder stone before this was removed from a patient in Brazil in 2003. It weighed 1.9 kilograms and was 17.9 centimeters long.

The stone removed in Sri Lanka last week was approximately 17 centimeters long and weighed 3.1 kilograms. If the doctors’ preliminary assessment is confirmed, the case could be recognized as a new record for the largest bladder stone.