In Sri Lanka, surgeons at Trincomalee District General Hospital removed a 3.1-kilogram stone—equivalent in size to an ostrich egg—from the bladder of a 55-year-old patient. Doctors believe this is the largest formation of its kind ever recorded in medical practice.
The patient was admitted to the clinic about a month ago with a stroke diagnosis. During treatment, medical staff noticed the man had difficulty urinating, prompting additional examinations. According to the lead surgeon, urologist Pragaladhan Balakrishnan, the extracted stone weighed as much as a newborn baby. The patient is currently in satisfactory condition and continues treatment at the hospital for other underlying issues.
Hospital Director Sandamali Samarakoon stated that this unique medical case may enter the Guinness World Records. To date, the largest officially confirmed bladder stone was 1.9 kilograms, removed by surgeons in Brazil in 2003. The stone removed in Sri Lanka measures approximately 17 centimeters in length, significantly exceeding the previous record.
For context, bladder stones form when the bladder does not empty completely, causing minerals to crystallize. Common causes include prostate enlargement, blockage of the urinary tract, nerve damage, or recurrent infections. Small stones pass from the body naturally, but formations larger than 1 centimeter require medical intervention, while stones over 4 centimeters are classified as giant.
