Ahmedabad: Doctors remove 250 grams hair from 11-year old

Doctors of Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad removed about 250 grams of hair from the stomach of a 11-year old girl. Doctors said that it is a rare condition called Trichobezoars, which develops due chronic hair eating. The hairs sticks in the stomach and forms a ball and finally takes shape of the stomach. It grows gradually and may progress towards small bowel. It obstructs any food taken and the person is not able to eat or drink. If ignored, it can cause bursting of the intestine and prove fatal for the patient.

Eleven-year old Laxmi Vishnu Thakor, a resident of Sabarmati was suffering from vomiting and constipation. She got initial treatment from Sabarmati Municipal Hospital and then a private hospital. Her parents, both labourers, were told that she need to be operated upon and expense would be about Rs two lakh. On May 29, they went to Civil Hospital – Ahmedabad. As her symptoms were not relieved with medications for almost ten days, she was taken up for emergency surgery suspecting obstruction in her intestines.

Surgery was done on 3rd June 2019 by Dr Rakesh S Joshi, Professor and head of Pediatric Surgery and Dr Jaishri Ramji, Associate professor and Dr Seema Gandhi (Anesthetist) and his team. "During surgery, she was found to have a Trichobezoar (ball of hair) in her small intestine, which created a complete blockade no food or liquid was able to move forward. The part of the intestine with the hairball was removed (around 15 cm of small bowel) and the intestinal end joined with each other. Weight of hair ball was 250 grams. The post-operative recovery was smooth and she was started on oral feeds after 5 days.

"This is a psychological condition, wherein the person plucks hair and eats them. It is associated with stress in people within age group of 10-19 years. Over 90 per cent of them are girl child. In this age, their bodies undergo major changes. Some time they also pluck other's hair and eat them," said Dr Joshi. This is only the second case in the history of Pediatric Surgery at the hospital that they have encountered such a case.

He also informed that the girl is being given psychiatric treatment. Terming the case as dangerous, Dr Joshi said that if not operated in time, the intestine would burst, which is life threatening. In such cases the patient is to be operated in two stages but the risk is very high.

Painful Experience

• Eleven-year-old Laxmi Vishnu Thakor, a resident of Sabarmati was suffering from vomiting and constipation 
• On May 29 she was admitted to Cil Hospital in Ahmedabad and was operated on June 3. 
• The post-operative recovery was smooth and she was started on oral feeds after five days. She is being given  psychiatric help as well.