Doctors remove 3.1kg stone from man's bladder and claim record

Doctors in Sri Lanka have successfully removed a massive 3.1kg (6.8lb) bladder stone from a 55-year-old man, reportedly setting a new record for the largest bladder stone ever removed through surgery. The procedure took place at a hospital in Trincomalee, in eastern Sri Lanka. The patient had been admitted to the hospital after experiencing a stroke, but doctors discovered the massive bladder stone while treating him for difficulty urinating.

Weighing as much as a full-term baby and measuring around the size of an ostrich egg, the stone was removed via surgery. Dr. Pragalathan Balakrishnan, who led the surgery, stated to BBC Sinhala that the patient's health was in excellent condition. The stone is believed to have been lodged in the patient's bladder for approximately five to 10 years, as bladder stones typically form when minerals in urine crystallize, creating solid lumps.

Bladder stones typically occur when the bladder fails to empty completely, leaving concentrated urine that crystallizes. While small stones, similar in size to grains of sand, may pass naturally, those larger than 1cm often block urine flow and require medical intervention. Stones exceeding 4cm are classified as giant. According to Guinness World Records, the previous largest bladder stone was removed from a patient in Brazil in 2003, with a weight of 1.9kg (4.2lb) and a length of 17.9cm (7in). The bladder stone extracted from the Sri Lankan patient measured 18.7cm in length.