Doctors at Hyderabad hospital remove hairball from Omani girl

Hyderabad: Doctors at Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad have removed a large hairball from the stomach of an 11-year-old girl from Oman.

The young girl was diagnosed with gastro trichobezoar which is an extremely rare intestinal condition in humans resulting from the ingestion of hair.

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

The girl was initially taken to hospital after complaining 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.

Dr TLVD Prasad Babu, Consultant Surgical Gastroenterologist Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon, led a team of three doctors in the operation to remove the huge bezoar at Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad.

“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,” said Dr Prasad Babu.

Followed by an oral liquid diet as instructed by doctors, 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.