A 20-year-old woman in Taiwan who simply could not resist bubble tea had to undergo surgery to remove more than 300 kidney stones, said the hospital.

The woman, whom the Chi Mei Medical Centre identified only as Xiao-yu, was admitted last week to the hospital in the city of Tainan, with a fever and severe pain in her lower back, according to an article on the hospital’s website on Dec 8.

Through an ultrasound scan, doctors at the emergency department discovered that her right kidney was swollen with fluid and had kidney stones in it, the article said.

A computed tomography scan revealed that the stones were about 5mm to 2cm in size, it added, and her blood test showed an elevated white blood cell count.

The article said doctors gave her antibiotics, drained the fluid from her kidney and performed minimally invasive surgery to remove more than 300 kidney stones that looked like “small steamed buns”.

The patient’s condition was stable after the operation, and she was discharged after a few days of observation, it added.

Dr Lim Chye-yang, the urologist who performed the surgery, said 9.6 per cent of the people in Taiwan may develop kidney stones in their lifetime, and men are more than three times as likely to develop stones than women.

Patients who develop kidney stones are usually between 50 and 60 years old, he added.

Dr Lim said kidney stone cases are more common in spring and summer because of the hot weather, which means people may be more dehydrated. When urine becomes more concentrated, the minerals combine and crystallise to form stones.

The article said that Xiao-yu did not like to drink water and would often have bubble tea instead.

Other causes of kidney stones include genetic factors, chronic diseases, as well as diets that are high in calcium and protein.