Cricket Ball-Sized Hairball Removed from 8-Year-Old's Stomach in Bengaluru

A team of medical professionals from Bengaluru's Aster's Children and Women Hospital successfully extracted an enormous hairball from an 8-year-old girl's stomach in an uncommon and amazing medical case. For two years, the youngster experienced terrible discomfort, low appetite, and frequent vomiting due to a hairball that was believed to be the size of a cricket ball. Trichophagia, sometimes referred to as Rapunzel syndrome, is the rare ailment that caused the child to develop a trichobezoar, or a significant buildup of hair in her digestive tract. Lead and Senior Consultant in Pediatric Surgery, Dr. Manjiri Somashekhar, called the case "extremely rare" and emphasized how unusual it was to uncover this disease in a child at such a young age. 

To remove the big, sticky hairball, a laparotomy—an open stomach surgery—was done. The two-and-a-half-hour surgery was effective in preventing any leaking into the peritoneum. In order to secure her recovery and stop this from happening again, the girl is getting frequent monitoring, counseling, and a healthy diet after her operation.

This amazing story highlights the value of perseverance and skill in medicine in identifying and managing uncommon illnesses, providing patients and their families with comfort and hope.