SURAT: A hairball weighing around 500 gram was removed from the stomach of a girl studying in Class XI. The surgery was performed at New Civil Hospital (NCH).
Doctors found that the girl had developed the issue for the second time. Around four years ago a hairball almost the same size was removed from her stomach. Doctors said that the girl started eating her hair due to depression.
The 16-year-old girl, a resident of Ghod Dod Road area, had stopped eating properly which led to her losing weight. Noticing a change in her food intake, her family got the girl examined at a private clinic. Medical examinations revealed a hairball in her stomach. The doctors suggested surgery to avoid further health issues.
The girl’s mother works as housemaid and was unable to pay for the surgery at the private clinic. Later, the girl was brought to NCH where the doctors performed surgery and removed the hairball.
“It is a rare case in which the girl had developed the same problem twice due to her habit of eating hairs. After the previous surgery the family did not get her treated for depression hence she continued eating hair,” said Dr Nimesh Verma of NCH.
Doctors noticed that the girl is suffering from depression. She plucks hair from or head and also eats those collected in a comb. The exact reason behind her depression will be known only after her psychiatric treatment, the doctors said. Her psychiatric treatment is likely to start at NCH. The girl’s father died around a year ago.
