Surgeons remove 1kg hair mass from nine-year-old Kerala girl
Doctors in Thiruvananthapuram have removed a 1kg hairball from the stomach and small intestine of a nine-year-old girl diagnosed with Rapunzel syndrome. The child was admitted with abdominal pain and vomiting, and scans showed an intestinal obstruction. The hospital said she recovered, resumed eating and was discharged.
Doctors at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram have removed a 1kg mass of hair from the stomach and small intestine of a nine-year-old girl diagnosed with Rapunzel syndrome. The girl was admitted to NIMS Medicity in Neyyattinkara after experiencing persistent abdominal pain and vomiting, according to a hospital statement. Ultrasound and CT scans showed severe intestinal obstruction.
An endoscopy then identified a large accumulation of hair in the stomach and small intestine. The mass, known medically as a trichobezoar or hairball, was removed completely during a complex operation led by Dr Biju I G Nair, senior consultant in paediatric surgery. The hospital said the girl recovered well, began eating normally again and was discharged.
Nair said a trichobezoar can form when a person repeatedly pulls out and swallows hair. Hair cannot be digested, allowing it to accumulate and harden in the stomach over time. Rapunzel syndrome is a particularly rare form of the condition in which the hairball extends from the stomach into the small intestine.
According to the doctor, it is usually seen in adolescent girls. Hospital authorities said fewer than 100 cases had been reported worldwide. The material supplied does not provide further information about the girl’s treatment after discharge or whether follow-up care was planned.
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