Taiwan hospital removes over 300 kidney stones from woman who loves bubble tea
A woman from Taiwan who loves bubble tea—and dislikes water—underwent surgery to remove over 300 kidney stones.
According to a December 8 article on the hospital's website, The Straits Times reported that a 20-year-old woman named Xiao Yu was admitted to a hospital in the city of Tainan after experiencing a bout of fever and severe lower back pain.
An ultrasound scan showed her right kidney was swollen with fluid and had kidney stones in it, the hospital said.
A computed tomography or CT scan showed the stones were about 5mm (pellet-like) to 2cm (peanut-like) in size. The woman also had an elevated white blood cell count.
Doctors gave her antibiotics, drained the fluid from her kidney, and performed surgery to remove the kidney stones, which, they said, looked like “small steamed buns.”
She was discharged after a few days.
Dr. Lim Chye-yang, the urologist who performed the surgery, noted that while patients who develop kidney stones are typically between 50 and 60 years old, 20-year-old Xiao Yu was remarkable due to her preference for bubble tea over water.
Genetics, chronic diseases, and diets rich in calcium and protein are among the leading causes of kidney stones.
Lim added that in Taiwan, men are thrice as likely to develop kidney stones than women, with 9.6% of Taiwanese developing kidney stones in their lifetime.