Kumasi Hospital removes 880-gram bladder stone in rare surgical case

In a remarkable surgical feat at Kumasi Hospital, a team of doctors removed an 880-gram bladder stone from a 49-year-old man, potentially the largest such stone ever extracted in Africa. The stone, measuring 11.8 centimeters in length, 9.5 centimeters in breadth, and nearly 8 centimeters in width, was discovered to be an oval-shaped mass, a hardened and crystallized formation that had developed within the patient's bladder for nearly three decades.

The patient, identified as Akoto, endured chronic pain, urinary difficulties, and a gradual decline in his quality of life due to the stone. He expressed his distress, stating, "It was really painful. Not being able to urinate is something I wouldn’t wish for anyone."

Doctors were astonished by the size of the stone, as they found no similar documented cases in African medical literature. Dr. Samuel Koranteng Asante, the Chief Executive Officer of Kumasi Hospital, confirmed that the stone weighed 980 grams initially but remained one of the largest upon desiccation for over a day. Guinness World Records records the largest bladder stone ever removed as weighing 1.9 kilograms in Brazil in 2003, which measured 17.9 centimeters in length.

Bladder stones form when urine remains in the bladder for prolonged periods, allowing minerals to concentrate, crystallize, and harden over time. Dr. Asante explained that underlying urinary tract problems, such as prostate enlargement, consistent urine retention due to ureteral stricture, or untreated urinary infections, could contribute to the formation of these large bladder stones.