A 57-year-old man arrived at the emergency department in Viña del Mar, Chile, after spending two days with increasingly severe pain in the upper right side of his abdomen, accompanied by nausea and weakness.
But doctors discovered that the problem had been developing for much longer.
The patient had known for at least 10 years that he had a huge gallstone in his gallbladder, although he had been symptom-free for much of that time. Doctors had recommended surgery, but he decided against it, partly because he also had coronary artery disease.
When he finally arrived at the hospital, an ultrasound revealed acute cholecystitis and a gigantic pear-shaped stone.
When it was removed, its dimensions were astonishing: it measured 16,8 centimeters long and 7,8 centimeters at its widest point, and weighed 278 grams. Analysis revealed that it was made up of a mixture of cholesterol, bilirubin, and calcium salts.
Doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the gallbladder. The procedure was successful, and the patient was able to leave the hospital five days later in good condition.
The stone was so extraordinary that specialists photographed it next to a man’s fist to show its true size.
And when they published the case, they said they had found no other acquired gallstone in the English- or Spanish-language medical literature that exceeded theirs in volume and weight.