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WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Teen eliminated surgically, by a course of often known as a laparotomy, however the process had led to the woman’s well being deteriorating quickly and she or he went right into a state of hypothermia
11:50, 06 Feb 2025Updated 11:51, 06 Feb 2025
The huge hairball had shaped inside her
A 15-year-old girl was forced to have a furball removed from her stomach after she developed an unusual condition called Rapunzel syndrome.
She suffered several days of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea before medics were called and it was thought at first that she had food poisoning given it had been going around the family just a few days before.
After checks, however, it was found that there was more going on and she had a large obstruction in her bowel, a buildup in the gastrointestinal tract, known as a trichobezoar.
But even then, medics didn’t realise the scale of the situation – that only came to light when she went under the knife. After a complicated procedure, doctors removed a 42 by 11.2 by 11.7cm hairball which weighed 2,468g.
It needed to be eliminated surgically, by a course of often known as a laparotomy, however the process had led to the woman’s well being deteriorating quickly and she or he went right into a state of hypothermia was displaying indicators of coagulopathy – a situation that makes it tough for blood to clot.
Parents had seen one aspect of her hair getting shorter
Thankfully, she returned to a stable condition after the hairball was removed. After the surgery, her parents told medics that the teen had previously exhibited signs of struggling with hair-pulling and chewing behaviours, which began at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to medical literature, this is the typical cause of Rapunzel syndrome, which is extremely rare.
While the girl’s parents said that they never specifically saw her eat her hair, they did notice that one side was shorter than the other. When questioned, she claimed that she had simply cut it that way.
The case report, recently published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports, noted that there were in fact two hairballs in the girl’s stomach, the smaller of which measured 10 by 3.8 by 3.5cm.
Following the removal, the teen required further washing out of her gastrointestinal tract.
While inpatient psychiatric therapy was really helpful, her household selected to provide her help along with her psychological well being at residence.
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