WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Teen removed surgically, through a process known as a laparotomy, but the procedure had led to the girl’s health deteriorating rapidly and she went into a state of hypothermia
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 had to be removed surgically, through a process known as a laparotomy, but the procedure had led to the girl’s health deteriorating rapidly and she went into a state of hypothermia was showing signs of coagulopathy – a condition that makes it difficult for blood to clot.
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 treatment was recommended, her family chose to give her support with her mental health at home.