The hair was surgically removed from the woman’s body on September 26th. (representative)
Lucknow/Bareilly:
Doctors in Bareilly extracted 2 kg of human hair from the body of a 21-year-old woman who had been secretly pulling out her hair at every opportunity for the past 16 years.
Clinically diagnosed as trichotillomania, or Rapunzel syndrome, it is a psychological condition in which victims pick and ingest their own hair.
Doctors said the hair completely surrounded the “cavity” of the stomach and even part of the intestines.
The Kalgaina resident was diagnosed with the condition on September 20 after a CT scan detected hair buildup.
“Trichotillomania is a chronic mental illness in which hair is repeatedly ingested. It is often associated with trichotillomania, a condition in which people compulsively pull out their own hair,” Dr MP Singh, a surgeon at a district hospital in Bareilly, told PTI told.
After the diagnosis, the woman received counseling at the hospital, Dr. Singh said. She admitted that she had been eating hair since she was five years old.
The hair was surgically removed from her body on September 26th.
“A large amount of hair completely trapped her stomach cavity and even part of her intestines,” Dr. Singh said.
This condition prevented the patient from eating solid foods, and ingesting liquids caused vomiting.
“The mental problem the patient was having is called trichotillomania. The caterpillar surgery was performed and the syndrome is called Rapunzel syndrome,” Dr Singh said.
“Rapunzel syndrome is a rare form of hair stone found in patients with a history of mental illness, trichotillomania (hair-pulling), and trichotillomania (hair-biting), resulting in gastric Develop gastroliths. The main symptoms are vomiting and epigastric pain,” he added.
He defined hairballs as hairballs that can form within the gastrointestinal tract. “While it may be benign, it can also cause serious health concerns and require emergency surgery,” said Dr. Singh. It is said to cause symptoms.
“The cause of carnivora is unknown, but some theories suggest that it may be due to genetic predisposition, social environment, or neurobiological factors,” he said.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the most effective treatment for trichotillomania, he said.
Dr Alka Sharma, in-charge of the hospital, said cases of such complicated surgeries are very rare.
“No such cases have been reported for the past 20 years,” she said.
Meanwhile, her family told doctors that the woman was addicted to pulling out her hair and that her symptoms surfaced when she started experiencing severe pain in her stomach and required a CT scan.
Dr Sharma said the woman was receiving counseling at the hospital.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
