Doctors operate on girl with stomach trichobezoar

Doctors from Seven Hills hospital, Andheri, removed a 1.6 kg mass of hair from the stomach of a 15 year old girl last week. According to the doctors she was diagnosed with stomach trichobezoar.
 
Trichobezoar is a hair ball or hair mass formed in the stomach due to trichophagia or eating of hair and trichotillomania (irresistible desire to pull hair till they are broken).
 
Stomach trichobezoar is a condition associated with psychiatric disorders including obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression. 
 
There are about 100 reports of Trichobezoar in English medical literature. Patients usually need psychiatric consultations after the surgery.

The medical history of the 15 year old girl says that she has been eating her own hair from the age of 10. Sushma’s father realised about this disorder only when she started complaining about abdomen pain and decreased appetite.

“We confirmed diagnosis with a CT scan and proceeded for surgery. On opening the stomach there was a huge mass of hair, making the exact cast of stomach shape. There was no space in stomach for food digestion. I removed the mass successfully through a small abdominal incision. This Trichobezoar weighed 1.6 kgs and measured 21 x 12 cm in dimensions. This is one of the rare cases with such huge mass,” said Dr Nitin Jain, laparoscopic and general surgeon, SevenHills Hospital.
.
Seeing the uniqueness of the case, the doctors are planning to send the case for printing in an international medical journal.