Trichobezoar – A Rare Cause of Abdominal Mass and Gastric Outlet Obstruction

Abstract

The authors present the clinical case of a 14-year old girl with weight loss, anorexia, epigastric abdominal pain and postprandial vomiting with 5 months duration. There was a background of trichophagia for 2 years without evidence of alopecia or psychiatric history. The physical examination revealed an epigastric mass motionless, stony, with poorly defined limits, painful on palpation and about 7 cm diameter. Abdominal ultrasonography showed thickening of the gastric wall and antrum with gastric distension. The abdominal tomography scan and endoscopic examination revealed the presence of a bulky trichobezoar occupying almost the entire gastric lumen. It was decided to undergo gastrotomy and extraction of the bezoar. The postoperative period was uneventful.

Keywords

• Abdomen
• Bezoars
• Gastric Outlet Obstruction
• Trichotillomania