A 64-year-old man had a stone the size of an ostrich egg removed from his bladder, after heading to the hospital with a pain in his side.
The man, who was also having trouble urinating, went to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. CT scans taken by the doctors revealed he had a stone roughly the size of a large grapefruit or a small ostrich egg lodged in his bladder.
He also had a second, smaller stone further up his abdomen (shown in figure A).
Doctors were able to surgically remove the stones from the man. When they were removed, the "egg-shaped" stone measured 12 centimeters by 9.5 centimeters (4.7 inches by 3.7 inches). It weighed 770 grams (1.7 pounds).
The doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that there were no complications and that the man will be monitored for any further recurrence of stones.
Bladder stones are small mineral deposits that can form in the bladder over time, mostly when you are dehydrated. When you are dehydrated or your urine is very concentrated, minerals such as calcium or magnesium crystalize and form stones. This particular one was made of 20 percent struvite and 80 percent calcium phosphate.
Though large, this isn't the biggest stone that has been removed from a person. According to Guiness World Records, the largest weighed a whopping 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds) and was 17.9 centimeters (7 inches) long.
It was removed from José de Castro da Silva (aged 62) in São Paulo City, Brazil in August 2003.
