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What Do Bladder Stones Look Like?

The urinary bladder stores urine until it is released from the body. Minerals can build up in the bladder and cluster together, forming stones that may be painful and that may lead you to seek medical treatment. Some bladder stones can exit the body without a doctor's assistance.

  1. Definition

    • Crystallized masses of bladder stones often form because urine stagnates in the bladder because of frequent bladder infections or because of prostate problems that prevent a man from emptying his bladder completely. Bladder stones also can form in people who have nerve damage that prevents them from realizing they haven't emptied their bladders entirely.

    Symptoms

    • If you have bladder stones, you may have noticeable symptoms or none at all. If you do experience symptoms, they may include pain in the abdomen, pain when urinating, blood in the urine and difficulty urinating. You may even leak urine. Some people pass bladder stones through the urethra--the opening through which urine leaves the body. You may pass just one or several, and they may appear smooth, lumpy or spiky. Some may be jagged. Bladder stones can be hard or soft.

    Appearance

    • Bladder stones may resemble rocks or crystal formations. They can range in color from a nearly clear or whitish color to gray, brown or black. Their appearance depends on the minerals that have contributed to their formation, and they can be round, oval or oddly shaped. According to ArabMedMag.com, some are even shaped like stars. Bladder stones may form a mass that looks like multiple stones clumped together.

    Treatment

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, a small stone may pass on its own, and a doctor may recommend drinking more water to help flush it out. Larger stones and those that don't pass on their own may require treatment. To remove a stone, a doctor may perform a cystolitholapaxy by inserting a small, thin tube with a camera attached to its end into the urethra in order to see the stone. The doctor then uses a laser or other device to break the bladder stone apart, making it easy to flush out the pieces. The doctor also may be able to pull the stone out of the urethra. If bladder stones are too large or too hard to treat with cystolitholapaxy, surgery may be necessary.

    Warning

    • Untreated bladder stones can damage the bladder or even contribute to the development of bladder cancer. They may contribute to the development of bacterial infections and long-term difficulties with the bladder.

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