Chinese Farmer's Bladder Stone Weighing 3 Pounds Removed

Beijing. A stone weighing 3 pounds has been removed from the bladder of a farmer in China. Reaching, 56-year-old farmer Chen (pseudonym) of Longtang city in western Guangdong, China, had been suffering from unbearable pain and serious urinary problems for years.

 During a hospital check-up, an unusually large stone was found in his bladder. For the past three years, Chen had been experiencing frequent difficulty urinating, sudden retention of urine, and sometimes had to change his posture. Sometimes it was unbearable pain and discomfort.

Initially, he considered these symptoms as common problems caused by the prostate and did not go to the hospital. Not wanting to leave his farming work, he was trying to control the problem with medication. But over time, instead of decreasing, the problem became more and more serious. He became afraid to go far from home and his sleep was disturbed because he had to wake up frequently at night to urinate. Finally, after persistent requests from his family, he agreed to go to the hospital.

The doctors examining Chen in the Urology Department of the hospital affiliated with Guangdong Medical University were also surprised. There was such a large stone in his bladder that urine could barely pass out. According to Dr. Lin Yuan, Deputy Head of the Urology Department, the stone was about 10 cm wide and 13 cm long. Its weight was 1.3 kilograms (about 2.9 pounds). It was said to be as large as two adult fists.

An X-ray taken by the doctors showed that the stone occupied a large part of the bladder. A multidisciplinary team was formed by the hospital for surgery and the operation was performed according to a special plan. Finally, the surgery was successful and the large stone was removed from the farmer's bladder. After treatment, he said, 'If I had come for treatment three years ago, I would not have had to suffer so much unnecessarily,' Doctors say this stone is one of the largest found in the Guangdong region so far. But it is not the largest stone ever removed from a human body in the world.