A young girl with a hair-eating habit for 15 years had a 2-kilogram hairball removed from her stomach.

A 20-year-old girl who went to the hospital with stomach pain in Hatay had a hairball measuring 50 centimeters and weighing about 2 kilograms removed from her abdomen. It was learned that the young girl had a habit of eating hair for 15 years.

The young girl with severe abdominal pain, identified as Ö.A., applied to the emergency department of İskenderun State Hospital. Tests revealed that Ö.A. had a foreign object in her stomach and a tear in her stomach. Upon the patient’s condition, General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Süleyman Belli and his team decided to perform an emergency operation. In the surgery, which was urgently performed in about 1 hour by Dr. Belli and his team, a hairball measuring 50 centimeters and weighing approximately 2 kilograms was extracted from Ö.A.’s abdomen. The young girl had developed a hole about 1 centimeter in her stomach, and the surgery was successfully completed. In discussions with the experts, it was learned that Ö.A. had a hair-eating habit for 15 years. It was stated that the young girl would receive support from a psychiatrist to regain her health.

“We cleaned all the hairs and remaining debris inside the stomach”

General Surgeon Dr. Süleyman Belli indicated that the operation was successful, stating, “This patient is a 20-year-old girl who came to our emergency department with severe abdominal pain. In the tests and imaging results, we observed a foreign object in the stomach. At the same time, fluid was observed in the abdomen. Therefore, we immediately decided to perform an emergency operation. When we took her to surgery, we detected a tear of about 1 centimeter in the abdomen, which was related to the hairball. When we examined the stomach through this tear, we removed a hairball that filled the stomach and the duodenum, measuring approximately 50 centimeters and weighing between 1.5 to 2 kilograms, which took the shape of the stomach. We cleaned all the hairs and remaining debris inside the stomach.” Dr. Belli indicated that the treatment process would continue with support from psychiatry for the young girl’s recovery, saying, “After this procedure, we concluded the surgery on the patient’s stomach. The patient’s general condition is good, and she is continuing her treatment in the general surgery department of İskenderun State Hospital. The surgery lasted about 60 minutes; such surgeries are performed somewhat urgently to avoid exposure to infection. It is necessary to relieve the patient from the foreign object contact as soon as possible, and we tried our best to complete the surgery nicely and effectively. It was successful, and the patient’s general condition is currently very good. The hair-eating disorder is internationally known as ‘Rapunzel syndrome’, and we will seek support from psychiatry for this. Everything necessary will be done for the patient. She may have had this hair-eating disorder, known as trichophagia, for 15 years. We did what was necessary, thank God, everything is fine, and our patient is in good condition.”