A bezoar is a mass of indigestible foreign material found in the gastrointestinal tract, usually in the stomach. Trichobezoars are the second most common bezoars which are usually found in young psychiatric patients. A 15-year-old female patient presented with signs of intestinal obstruction and acute abdomen. The preoperative investigations revealed a perforated appendix, and an exploratory laparotomy was performed. Intraoperative findings showed presence of a mass of hair in the stomach along with a long tail extending into the small intestine. Postoperatively, the patient's condition worsened and she died because of complications of perforation peritonitis on day 3. Early diagnosis of Rapunzel syndrome can help in making early interventions. The prognosis of incidental detection of this condition depends on the accompanying cause.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mjafi.2020.04.009 | DOI Listing |
Cureus
November 2024
Department of General and Operative Surgery, Medical University "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Varna, BGR.
Trichobezoar or hairball in the proximal part of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare condition that occurs mainly in young and adolescent females. Since human hair is resistant to digestive enzymes and resistant to peristalsis, it easily accumulates between the folds of the mucosa. Over time, food and mucus accumulate within the hair, forming a compact mass that fills almost the entire lumen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Surg Case Rep
December 2024
Department of Pathology, Health Plus Diagnostics, Gorakhpur, India.
Introduction And Importance: Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition that results from trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and trichophagia (hair eating), causing a trichobezoar (hairball) to form This syndrome typically affects young females with psychiatric conditions and presents with symptoms like chronic abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and malnutrition. The condition is often diagnosed late, leading to serious gastrointestinal complications.
Case Presentation: A 19-year-old female from a rural community presented with chronic abdominal pain, vomiting, and nutritional deficiencies, including scaly skin and koilonychia.
Int J Surg Case Rep
December 2024
King Edward Medical University, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan.
Introduction And Importance: Trichobezor is a mass of accumulated ingested hair in the gastric lumen. Rapunzel syndrome is an extension of these bezoars beyond the pylorus. The formation of trichobezoar is invariably linked to trichotillomania and trichophagia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCase Rep Surg
December 2024
Department of Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo, Syria.
Trichobezoars are accumulations of undigested hair. Usually, this disorder follows a psychiatric etiology; however, sometimes a nonpsychiatric etiology, such as pica, can also be suspected. Rapunzel syndrome is a rare type of trichobezoar in which the hair is usually confined to the stomach and small intestine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
December 2024
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, Loc. Germaneto, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Rapunzel syndrome is a rare and severe form of trichobezoar, characterized by the presence of hair masses in the stomach that often extend into the bowel, resembling the legendary "Rapunzel's" long hair. : This review examines the clinical, diagnostic, forensic, and post-mortem aspects associated with Rapunzel syndrome, with a focus on cases resulting in mortality or those at high risk of death due to complications. In particular, the review systematically analyzes the existing literature on fatal cases of Rapunzel syndrome, emphasizing insights into risk factors, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, autopsy findings, and preventive measures to provide a focused understanding of these critical aspects.
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