Docs at Ganga Ram remove stone from woman's urinary tract, claim its largest in the world

A big stone was removed from a woman's urinary tract at a city hospital, with doctors claiming that it was the largest such stone removed from a patient's body anywhere in the world.

The stone, removed from a woman, who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh, measured 22 cm in total and weighed 60 gm.

The total length of a ureter -- urinary pipe leading from kidney to bladder -- is approximately the same length, according to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

"It is the longest ureteric stone reported in a surgery till now. The longest ureteric stone reported till now was of 21.5 cm," the hospital said in a statement.

Such large stones were traditionally removed by open or large incision procedures.

Although, the current technology allows many modes of treating a stone with minimal invasion, none is foolproof and may need staged attempts at complete removal, doctors at the hospital said.

According to Dr Sachin Kathuria, Consultant, Department of Urology, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, "The use of surgical robot made it possible to remove such a long stone in a single surgery and allowed the stone removal with minimum scar and quick recovery."