What is trichophagia and how did it affect the girl in Vietnam?

Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair. In Vietnam, a nine-year-old girl developed a life-threatening intestinal blockage due to a large hairball formed from this condition.

How large was the hairball removed from the Vietnamese child?

Surgeons removed a massive hairball that was nearly one meter long from the child's gastrointestinal tract.

What are the risks associated with a child eating their hair?

Eating hair can lead to serious consequences, including intestinal obstructions, severe pain, and potentially life-threatening blockages if not addressed early.

Home / Health / Vietnam Girl's Hairball Emergency: A Meter-Long Mass Removed

Vietnam Girl's Hairball Emergency: A Meter-Long Mass Removed

10 Jan

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Summary

A nine-year-old girl suffered a life-threatening intestinal blockage.
Surgeons removed a nearly one-meter-long hairball from her GI tract.
The condition stemmed from a childhood habit of eating her own hair.

Vietnam Girl's Hairball Emergency: A Meter-Long Mass Removed

A nine-year-old girl in Vietnam, identified as H., required emergency surgery after a massive hairball completely obstructed her gastrointestinal tract. Doctors discovered a dense mass nearly one meter long, extending from her stomach into her small intestine, leading to severe abdominal pain and vomiting. This critical condition was caused by trichophagia, a habit of eating her own hair that H. had developed since early childhood.

Specialists at FV Hospital performed a complex three-hour laparoscopic surgery combined with gastrointestinal endoscopy to remove the hairball. The minimally invasive procedure successfully cleared the obstruction, providing immediate pain relief for H. She was able to resume normal eating and was discharged five days after the operation, showing significant improvement in her health.