Kerala girl with extremely rare digestive disorder undergoes surgery, 1 kg hair removed from GI tract

A nine-year-old girl from Kerala's Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram recently underwent a rare surgical procedure to remove a solid hairball weighing one kilogram from her stomach! The young patient had been hospitalised after suffering from persistent abdominal pain and severe vomiting for an extended period. The medical investigations revealed that she was suffering from an extremely unusual digestive disorder, which has fewer than 100 cases reported globally. The condition, known as Rapunzel Syndrome, typically affects women between the ages of 13 to 19, says the Cleveland Clinic. Here's what you need to know:

What is Rapunzel Syndrome?
Named after the long-haired princess in the popular fairytale named Rapunzel, it is a digestive disorder caused by a mental health condition. It is linked to trichophagia (the compulsive eating of hair) and trichotillomania (a hair-pulling disorder). The behaviour is often triggered by psychological factors such as severe emotional stress, anxiety, or deep-seated insecurity, leading children to unconsciously pull out and swallow their own hair.

Symptoms of Rapunzel syndrome
a) Vomiting
b) Nausea
c) Belly pain and cramps
d) Bloated belly
e) Diarrhoea
f) Bad breath
g) Loss of appetite
h) Constipation
i) Weight loss

An accumulated silent danger
Because human hair cannot be digested by the body, it slowly accumulates in our gastrointestinal tract over months or even years. In the young Kerala patient's case, the ingested hair formed a dense, hard mass that completely blocked her intestines, leading to severe discomfort, continuous vomiting, and an inability to digest food normally.

Successful surgical intervention
A specialist medical team led by Dr Biju IG Nair, Senior Consultant in the Department of Paediatric Surgery at NIMS Medicity, performed the delicate operation to extract the massive hairball. Following the successful procedure, the girl has made a complete recovery. Hospital authorities confirmed that she has been discharged, is in good health, and has happily resumed eating regular meals.