Surgeons Pull Giant Hairball From Stomach Of Girl, 11
Surgeons in Kazakhstan were left shocked after they pulled a hairball weighing more than a kilo from the stomach of an 11-year-old girl.
The gruesome discovery was made in one of the hospitals of the city of Taraz in southern Kazakhstan’s Jambyl region.
The girl was taken to the local hospital after suffering from a severe stomach ache and was reportedly unable to eat or even drink a glass of water.
But when surgeons carried out immediate surgery, they were stunned to find a huge ball of hair located in her stomach.
The hairball covered some 17 centimetres of her stomach, and also continued around 35 centimetres into her bowl.
Both of the girl’s parents said that they had often spotted their daughter chewing her long hair, but had been unaware that she was swallowing it when the hair was chewed off.
The girl’s condition, known as Rapunzel syndrome, sees ingested hair accumulate in the patient’s stomach and can cause severe stomach problems.
In less serious cases, patients can be given medication to induce vomiting.
Doctors are now confident that the girl will be able to eat and drink again after the ‘trichobezoar’ hairball was successfully removed.
