Half a kilo of hair in the stomach of a 6-year-old girl

SKĐS - On December 9th, the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital of Quang Ngai province announced that they had successfully surgically removed a half-kilogram ball of hair from the stomach of a 6-year-old child.

Previously, the child was hospitalized with a stomachache, and his family noticed that he often ate hair. Through ultrasound, doctors discovered that the child's stomach contained a foreign object. The child was ordered to have an endoscopy under anesthesia, and the result was that the hairball occupied the entire stomach.

The surgeons opened the child's stomach to remove the foreign object.

Immediately after the consultation, on the morning of December 9, doctors from the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Surgery in collaboration with the Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation performed a stomach surgery to remove the foreign object from the child. The doctors removed a very large, tightly twisted hairball, occupying the entire stomach, weighing about 0.5 kg. After the surgery, the child's health is now stable.

According to Dr. Pham Xuan Duy, this case was determined to be related to Rapunzel Syndrome - a rare psychological disorder that causes the patient to pull out and eat hair. The syndrome is common in girls, especially those before entering first grade.

The ball of hair, weighing 0.5 kg, was removed from the child's stomach.

Although the patient can still eat and drink normally, prolonged hair swallowing will lead to reflux, intestinal obstruction, stomach ulcers, and even be life-threatening.

"Hair is not toxic but is completely indigestible. When accumulated in large amounts, it can cause digestive tract obstruction. Parents need to observe their children's unusual behavior, especially the habit of pulling out or eating hair, to take them to the doctor and provide timely psychological treatment," Dr. Duy advised.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/nua-can-toc-trong-da-day-be-gai-6-tuoi-169251209153026486.htm