Doctors remove giant 4.4lb hairball from teenage girl’s stomach
DOCTORS have removed a giant human hairball weighing 4.4 lbs from a teenage girl’s stomach.
The girl, 19, was admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pains after she consistently vomited after meals and struggled with general lack of body strength, according to reports.
The bizarre incident took place in the city of Ulan-Ude in the southern Russian republic of Buryatia.
After carrying out a thorough medical examination, doctors discovered a bezoar, a solid mass of indigestible material, that had accumulated in her stomach.
‘INNOCENT HABIT’
The bezoar had filled up almost all of her stomach, causing immense pain and a duodenal ulcer, according to reports.
Head of the surgical team that operated on the teenager, Bator Dondokov, said: “Things like that can begin with an apparently innocent habit of chewing on your own hair.
“The group of people most at risk are young girls and the swallowed hair remains in the stomach.”
The patient’s mother said that her daughter received fantastic treatment at the hospital and is almost back to full health.
People who swallow their own hair are said to have a psychiatric disorder called trichophagia.
The disorder is related to a slightly more common condition where people have an irresistible urge to pull out their hair, called trichotillomania or hair-pulling disorder.
What is Rapunzel syndrome?
Rapunzel syndrome, or trichophagia, is the rare medical condition where hairs a person has eaten become trapped in the stomach and form a hair ball.
These hair balls can cause nausea, bloating, abdominal pain and vomiting.
Other symptoms include reduced appetite, weight loss and constipation or diarrhoea.
In some cases the bowel can be punctured which can lead to sepsis – which, without quick treatment, can lead to multiple organ failure and death.
The authors of a BMJ Case Reports review found nearly 70 per cent of patients with Rapunzel syndrome were females aged younger than 20.
Many have learning disabilities or emotional troubles.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Earlier this year, doctors removed a huge hairball from the stomach of a 16-year-old girl suffering from “Rapunzel Syndrome”.
The unnamed teenager, from Russia, had been chewing her own hair for the past 10 years and over time it had collected in her stomach.
Dr Andrey Karavaev said 80 per cent of the girl’s stomach was filled with the giant hair ball and her gastrointestinal tract was in danger of being totally blocked.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours