18/08/2026
Share:
18/08/2026
Share:
TRINCOMALEE, Aug 18: Doctors in eastern Sri Lanka have removed what they believe to be the largest bladder stone on record — a massive 3.1-kilogram (6.8-pound) mass roughly the weight of a full-term baby.
The remarkable procedure was carried out last week at a hospital in Trincomalee, where a 55-year-old man was admitted after suffering a stroke. While treating him, doctors discovered stones in his urinary bladder after noticing he was having difficulty urinating.
During surgery, doctors extracted the giant bladder stone, which measured around 17 centimeters long — comparable to the size of an ostrich egg.
"According to available records, it is the largest bladder stone ever documented and removed through surgery," Dr. Prahalahan Balakrishnan, who led the procedure, told BBC Sinhala. He added that the patient was in "very good health" following the operation.
The patient remains hospitalized and continues receiving treatment for his other medical conditions, doctors said.
Dr. Balakrishnan estimated the stone had been growing in the patient's bladder for approximately five to 10 years.
Bladder stones form when minerals in urine crystallize and turn into solid lumps, typically occurring when the bladder doesn't empty completely, leaving concentrated urine that hardens into crystals.
While small stones the size of sand grains can pass naturally, those larger than 1 centimeter often block urine flow and require medical intervention. Stones exceeding 4 centimeters are classified as giant.
According to Guinness World Records, the previous largest bladder stone was removed from a patient in Brazil in 2003, weighing 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds) and measuring 17.9 centimeters (7 inches) in length. The Sri Lankan stone outweighs that record by more than 1 kilogram.
