Surgeons at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, have removed a huge lump of hair from a girl’s stomach.
According to Y. Shajahan, professor, department of Surgery, the 15-year-old girl, a native of Palakkad, initially sought treatment at the outpatient department.
A huge lump was found in her abdomen, later identified as trichobezoar. This is an unusual condition that occurs in youngsters, especially girls, who experience severe tension in life. As some of them repeatedly ingest their own hair under stress, it gets clumped in the stomach with food particles. In due course, a huge lump is developed and their food intake is affected. They become malnourished too, says Dr. Shajahan.
The lump, weighing over 2 kg, was 30-cm-long and 15-cm-wide. It was successfully removed through a minilap procedure on Tuesday.
