A 35-year-old man arrived at a hospital in Athens with a fever, a long history of painful urination, and a stop-start urine stream. His serum creatinine was 2 mg/dl, above the normal range for an adult man. His urea was elevated at 80 mg/dl. An ultrasound showed both ureters swollen with backed-up urine.
An X-ray explained why. His bladder held two stones, and the larger one measured 60 by 45 by 30 millimeters and weighed 310 grams, roughly 11 ounces. It occupied the bladder cavity and dammed urine back into both kidneys.
