Two Cases of Hair Balls in Girls

Abstract

This article describes two cases of hair balls in girls between aged 2.5 and 12 years. The reason for this quite rare disease may be trichotillomania (compulsive desire to pull out own hair) and trichophagia (compulsive or impulsive desire to pull out, and then to swallow own or someone's hair) typical for Rapunzel syndrome. Initially, the children were enrolled in the Oncology Centre in view of suspected abdominal tumour. After detection of foreign bodies in the stomach, they were transferred to the Department of Clean Surgery. The following surgeries were performed: median laparotomy, gastrotomy on the front wall of the stomach, bezoar removal. Hair balls were dense felt-like conglomerates with a strong offensive odour. Bezoar dimensions of the younger girl were 855, the elder one — 20108 cm. Postoperative period was uneventful. The children were discharged in a satisfactory condition to be followed up by a surgeon, paediatrician, and psychiatrist in their community.

Keywords

• children
• stomach
• hair ball
• trichotillomania
• rapunzel syndrome