A rare medical case unfolded at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram, where doctors removed more than 8,000 stones from a 70-year-old man’s gallbladder in a single surgery. While gallstones are common and usually occur in small numbers—one, two, or a handful—this patient had an astonishing quantity that posed a severe health risk.

The patient had been silently suffering for years with symptoms like loss of appetite, stomach pain, and heaviness in the chest and back but was unaware of the thousands of stones developing inside him. When he was finally admitted to the hospital, an ultrasound revealed the shocking presence of over 8,000 gallstones.

The surgical team performed a laparoscopic gallbladder removal that lasted just one hour, successfully removing all the stones. However, counting them took the doctors around six hours. Thanks to timely intervention, the patient was discharged healthy and is now doing well.

Why Do Gallstones Form?
Dr. Amit Javed and Dr. Narola Yanger explained that gallstones form when the level of bilirubin—a substance found in bile—increases in the body. The liver may produce excess bilirubin due to poor diet and other health factors, leading to stone formation. Often, stones develop silently over years, without obvious symptoms until they cause pain or complications.

Where Does Gallstone Pain Occur?
Gallstone pain typically affects the upper right side of the abdomen and may radiate to the back or right shoulder. The pain can start suddenly and last from minutes to hours, sometimes causing severe discomfort.

The doctors emphasized that immediate surgery was critical in this case to prevent fibrosis—a dangerous condition that could have put the patient’s life at risk. Thanks to expert care, this extraordinary case had a successful outcome.