Two cases of giant female urethral stone in long-term bedridden elderly

A 78-year-old female suffering from a cerebral infarction and subdural hematoma was referred to us due to a hard mass in the anterior vaginal wall which was disclosed during gynecological examination. An abdominal X-ray, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that a large spindle-shaped stone, 60 x 42 mm in size, was impacting the urethra. It was impossible to catheterize the urethra. The stone gradually projected through the external urethral meatus and was removed by grasping and drawing with forceps. Another 83-year-old female with senile dementia was referred to us because of macrohematuria. An abdominal X-ray and CT showed the presence of two oval bladder stones, 32 x 24 mm and 30 x 21 mm in size. During a follow-up, one of the stones projected partially through the external urethral meatus and was removed by drawing with forceps. After a week, the other stone impacted the urethra and was removed in the same way. Both women were frail, bedridden institutionalized elderly with severe dementia, and their urination had been managed with diapers for years. As the proportion of elderly people in Japan rapidly increases, female urethral stones migrating from the urinary bladder, once very rare, may increase in number, to which we must pay attention.