Giant Hairball Removed From 11-Year-Old Girl's Stomach In Extremely Rare Case

Doctors at a hospital in India removed a giant hairball from the stomach of an 11-year-old girl. The child, who was from Oman, was diagnosed with gastro trichobezoar – an extremely rare intestinal condition in humans resulting from the ingestion of hair.

The surgery took place at Yashoda Hospitals in the southern city of Hyderabad. However, the exact date of the procedure is not known. The girl was taken to hospital after she complained of pain and swelling in her stomach, as well as loss of appetite and weight loss.

Preliminary diagnosis through ultrasound and CT scan showed an unidentified lump in the stomach, the Hans India reported.

Dr TLVD Prasad Babu, Consultant Surgical Gastroenterologist Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon, along with a team of three doctors carried out a surgery to remove the huge hairball.

“We performed UGI Endoscopy and detected a ball of hair in her stomach. The entire stomach was filled with hair. The hair could have extended from the stomach into the small intestine. We have operated through laparoscopy to remove gastro trichobezoar. The patient was progressing well with dietary advice,” Dr Prasad Babu said, according to the Siasat.

Trichobezoar occurs when an infant or a mentally unstable person is involved in obsessive pulling of hair and eating it, which accumulates as a lump in the stomach. However, in this case the girl has no psychiatric disorders. The girl’s parents were not aware of the situation.

After the surgery, the girl was put on an oral liquid diet. The patient was able to walk on the next day of the surgery. She was discharged from the hospital on the third day after the surgery.

While the condition is rare, there have been a few cases of trichobezoar in the last few months. Experts say that so far there has been less than 100 such cases recorded worldwide.

According to reports last month, a huge hairball – almost the size of a rugby ball – was found inside the stomach of a 13-year-old girl, who ended up in hospital after complaining of stomach ache. The girl's mother said she began eating her hair after being "bullied" in school. The girl was identified as Melissa Williams, 13, from Walton, U.K. The girl underwent surgery on Oct.1. The hairball was so heavy that doctors had to cut it into four sections, before removing each one.