TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka — Doctors in Sri Lanka have successfully removed an extraordinary 3.1-kilogram bladder stone from a patient, a medical feat that could potentially set a new world record if formally verified.
The massive stone was removed at Trincomalee District General Hospital in eastern Sri Lanka during an operation performed in August. The surgical team was led by consultant urologist Dr. Prahalahan Balakrishnan.
The stone reportedly measured roughly 17 centimeters and has been compared in size to an ostrich egg. At 3.1 kilograms—or about 6.8 pounds—it weighed roughly as much as a newborn baby.
Patient’s Urinary Problem Led to Stunning Discovery
International reports identify the patient as a 55-year-old man who was receiving hospital treatment after suffering a stroke. Doctors noticed that he was having difficulty urinating, prompting further examinations that eventually revealed the enormous mass inside his bladder.
Sri Lankan outlet Newswire reported that the patient had been hospitalized for about a month and that the operation was performed on August 14. Doctors initially detected what appeared to be a mass in his abdominal area before further tests determined it was a giant bladder stone.
Dr. Balakrishnan estimated that the stone could have been developing inside the patient’s bladder for approximately five to 10 years. Following the surgery, doctors said the patient was doing well, although he remained hospitalized for treatment of other medical conditions.
Could It Break a Guinness World Record?
That’s where the case becomes even more remarkable.
The established Guinness benchmark cited by multiple reports involves a bladder stone removed in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2003, weighing approximately 1.9 kilograms and measuring 17.9 centimeters long.
The Sri Lankan stone is therefore approximately 1.2 kilograms heavier than that benchmark.
But despite its extraordinary weight, the Sri Lankan case should not yet be reported as an officially confirmed new Guinness World Record.
Hospital officials said the 3.1-kilogram stone could qualify for the record, but formal confirmation had not yet been received.
That distinction is important: doctors believe they may have removed the largest bladder stone ever documented surgically, but independent record verification is still needed.
How Can a Bladder Stone Become This Large?
Bladder stones are hardened masses of minerals that develop when urine becomes concentrated and minerals crystallize inside the bladder.
One common factor is the bladder’s inability to empty completely, allowing urine—and eventually mineral deposits—to remain inside for extended periods.
Symptoms can include lower abdominal pain, painful or frequent urination, difficulty passing urine, interrupted urine flow and blood in the urine. Some stones, however, may initially cause few noticeable symptoms.
Small bladder stones can sometimes pass naturally, while larger ones may require medical procedures or surgery to break them apart or remove them.
Sri Lanka Has Already Made Stone-Removal History
Interestingly, this isn’t Sri Lanka’s first headline-making medical record involving an enormous urinary stone.
In June 2023, doctors at Colombo Army Hospital removed a 13.372-centimeter kidney stone weighing 801 grams from a retired soldier. The Sri Lanka Army reported that the operation entered Guinness World Records for the world’s largest and heaviest kidney stone at the time.
The distinction matters: that 2023 case involved a kidney stone, while the new 3.1-kilogram case involves a bladder stone—two different medical categories.
Now, three years later, Sri Lankan surgeons may have another record-breaking case on their hands.
If the latest 3.1-kilogram specimen receives official verification, an operation at a regional hospital in Trincomalee could rewrite the record books—and turn one patient’s astonishing medical discovery into another landmark achievement for Sri Lankan medicine.
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