New Delhi: A shocking incident has come to light from Maharahtras Mumbai where city doctors removed a 50-cm long hairball from a 10-year-old schoolgirls stomach. The girl, had a habit of eating her hair, which caused her severe stomach pain and discomfort that lasted for almost 20 days. At first, her parents took her to see doctors in her local area, Vasai, but when the pain and vomiting didnt stop, they took her to a bigger hospital in Parel for further treatment.Doctors find surprising cause of painThe doctors from the childrens surgery team said, The child came to us with symptoms of constipation for 4-5 days, severe malnourishment, severe weight loss and acute pain in the abdomen with a palpable firm to hard mass.A test called an ultrasound scan showed that there was a big lump of hair stuck in the girls stomach and intestines. This confirmed our diagnosis of trichophagia, a compulsive eating of hair linked to trichotillomania (hair pulling), said a doctor. Rare hair-raising conditionTrichophagia affects women more than men, especially younger women and teenage girls.The girl from Vasai had a rare and serious problem from eating her own hair. The hairball in her stomach grew so big that it went into her intestines. This made the hairball look like a long braid, like the hair of Rapunzel from the fairy tale. Childs rare condition treatedThe child had therapy sessions before and after the operation to help them cope. The childs mother said, I was shocked to learn about the rare condition my child had. But thankfully, my child is now well and excited to go back to school. Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, the head of Wadia Hospital, said, We didnt just treat the childs psychological problem, we gave them complete care to help them recover quickly.
