woman holding abdomen. Area highlighted in red to depict pain
Jade Small
Jade Small
December 28, 2023 Â·  3 min read

Woman’s ‘UTI’ turns out to be a glass tumbler lodged in her bladder for four years

A UTI is most women’s perpetual fear. They are one of the most uncomfortable things, and occasionally they can even be life-threatening. For those who do not know, a UTI stands for a Urinary Tract Infection and is commonly known as a bladder infection. It can lead you to feel like you constantly need to pee. The full bladder feeling does not go away when you go to the toilet, and most of the time nothing comes out, and you are left with this painful burning sensation when it does. So one would assume if they experience these symptoms, the cause would more or less be obvious, but, as you will see, that is not always the case.

The story begins with a Tunisian woman in her mid-40s. She visited her local hospital because she thought she was dealing with an intense bladder infection. Her symptoms were very similar, and she was complaining about always needing the toilet, but never being satisfied. She said the discomfort she felt was uncannily similar to a UTI. But, what was found, was a surprise, even to the doctor treating her.

From UTI to Foreign Object

After a series of tests and X-rays of her bladder, what came back was a sight that would not easily be forgotten by both the patient and the doctors. The scans revealed an 8cm (3.15 inches) wide bladder stone.

An X-ray of the unidentified woman revealed a 'giant' stone — measuring 8cm by 7cm — had developed around a glass inside her bladder (pictured)
Image Credit: Urology Case Reports


Read: Florida Teacher Found Unresponsive After Attack by 5-Year-Old: Police

The doctors were surprised when they realized that something was contained within the bladder stone, it was a glass tumbler. They must have wondered, how on earth did that get there? 

It turns out that this woman had inserted this glass tumbler into her urethra in a solo sexual moment about four whole years before its discovery. She was feeling very inventive at the time because glasses are not usually the first thing one thinks of when considering sex toys. She mentioned to the doctors that she was embarrassed about it, so she left it until it became an issue. 

Doctors at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in Sfax carried out a cystolithotomy — a type of open surgery used to remove the bladder stone (pictured)
Image Credit: Urology Case Reports

What are Bladder Stones?

Bladder stones are common, and the older we get, the more susceptible we are to them. They are mineral build-ups that occur when we do not empty our bladders sufficiently. They tend to encase anything foreign inside your bladder. In this case, the glass itself was encased, which lead to the massive 8cm stone.

A Much Needed Surgery for a “UTI

Each doctor agreed that emergency surgery was the best option to move forward with. The glass and bladder stone would need to be removed immediately.

To remove the glass, doctors at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in the eastern city of Sfax performed cystolithotomy. This is how all bladder stones are removed if they cannot pass through the urinary tract. Two days later the woman was released and fully recovered.

The moral of this story is that doctors have seen it all, so you should never be embarrassed about seeking medical help. It’s always best to be safe than sorry.

Keep Reading: The ‘Cherubs From Hell’ Are The World’s Most Body-Modified Duo

Sources

  1. Tunisian woman, 45, has a GLASS TUMBLER removed from her bladder four YEARS after inserting it for ‘erotic purposes’.Daily Mail. March 2022
  2. “A bladder stone surrounding a foreign body: A rare case” Urology Case Reports. Janurary 2022.