New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) Doctors in Bengaluru on Thursday removed a clump of hair larger than a cricket ball from the stomach of an eight-year-old girl.
A girl named Aditi (name changed) has a rare disease called trichophagia. In this, a person has a habit of eating hair. It is also known as Rapunzel syndrome.
Her parents were perplexed by her lack of appetite and frequent vomiting for two years. They took her to the doctors for this problem.
He diagnosed Aditi’s condition as gastritis (stomach problem) and gave her medicines, but it did not help.
Doctors at Bengaluru’s Aster Children’s and Women’s Hospital diagnosed her with trichobezoar, a condition characterized by hair accumulation in the abdomen.
“Trichobezoar is a rare condition and it is very unusual for a girl to suffer from it at such a young age. It is usually associated with trichophagia, a psychological disorder in which a person eats hair. It is commonly seen in adolescent girls,” Dr Manjari Somasekhar, senior consultant, paediatric surgery, told IANS.
Aditi had to undergo an open surgery, called a laparotomy, as the clump of hair was too large and sticky and too complicated for endoscopy.
According to the doctors, the operation was successful after two hours and fifty minutes of surgery.
If the disease was not treated early, complications such as malnutrition, anemia, and stomach bleeding could result.
After the surgery, the girl has been put on a special diet.
–IANS
PSM/CBT
