Hyderabad,  As many as 156 kidney stones were removed from a 50-year-old patient at a Hyderabad hospital.

Doctors at the Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospital, a leading renal care facility in the city, removed the kidney stones through keyhole opening.

Doctors say this is the highest number of kidney stones ever removed from a single patient in the country, using laparoscopy and endoscopy, instead of conducting a major surgery.

The patient, Basavaraj Madiwalar, a school teacher in Karnataka's Hubli, developed sudden pain near his abdomen, and screening showed presence of a large cluster of renal stones (kidney stones).

The patient is also a case of ectopic kidney as it was located near to his abdomen, instead of its normal position in the urinary tract. Though the presence of the kidney in an abnormal location is not the cause of the problem, removing stones from the kidney located abnormally was surely a challenging task, doctors said.

"This patient might have been developing these stones for more than two years, but never experienced any symptoms in the past. However, sudden occurrence of pain forced him to undergo all necessary tests which revealed presence of a large cluster of renal stones in the kidney. After assessing his health condition, we decided to take laparoscopy and endoscopy route to extract the stones, instead of resorting to a major surgery," said Dr. V Chandra Mohan, Urologist and Managing Director, Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospital.

"With meticulous planning and proper preparation, the stones were fully extracted after a procedure that lasted for three hours. Instead of a major cut on the body, a simple keyhole opening helped extract the stones fully. The patient is hale and healthy now, and has returned to his regular daily routine," he added.