NEED TO KNOW
A nine-year-old in Vietnam was hospitalized with an entire intestinal blockage brought on by an enormous hairball
Docs traced the obstruction to years of undetected hair consuming linked to trichophagia
The kid recovered after minimally invasive surgical procedure and was discharged 5 days later
A nine-year-old lady in Vietnam is recovering after medical doctors on the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital (or FV Hospital) eliminated an enormous hairball that had utterly blocked her gastrointestinal tract, making a life-threatening emergency.
Based on a press launch from the hospital, revealed on Thursday, Jan. 8, the kid, recognized solely as H., was delivered to the hospital’s emergency division after a number of days of extreme “belly ache, persistent vomiting, weight reduction and pallor.”
Additional examination from Normal Surgical procedure, Gastroenterology, and Imaging specialists revealed a dense hairball almost one meter lengthy, tightly coiled from her abdomen down into her small gut.
FV Hospital
H.’s hairball.
“Through the examination, we seen that the kid’s hair was unusually brittle and standing upright, which prompted us to take a extra detailed medical historical past,” mentioned Dr Le Duc Tuan, Normal Surgical procedure Division at FV Hospital in an announcement.
“Solely then did the mom reveal that the kid had developed a behavior of pulling out and consuming her hair for the reason that age of two or three. The household had not paid a lot consideration to it, assuming it was innocent,” he added.
As defined within the launch, hair can’t be digested, which led to the years of hair pulling and consuming (a psychological sickness known as trichophagia) to build up and harden right into a mass that developed into an intestinal obstruction, blocking H.’s abdomen outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to FV Hospital for remark and didn’t obtain a direct response.
To take away the hairball, H. underwent a posh three-hour laparoscopic surgical procedure, which allowed surgeons to entry the obstructed section of the gut. On the similar time, gastrointestinal endoscopy helped determine the precise location of the hairball and assisted with its removing from the gastric aspect.
FV Hospital
Surgeons engaged on H.
Following surgical procedure, H. skilled speedy ache aid and resumed regular consuming. The kid was discharged from the ability 5 days after the process. In a latest follow-up, H. confirmed wholesome weight acquire and a marked enchancment in each her bodily situation and general well-being.
Based on Dr Tuan, trichophagia is commonly related to gentle psychological problems, habits fashioned in early childhood or circumstances linked to emphasize and anxiousness. Because of this, a baby’s behaviour of pulling out and placing hair into the mouth shouldn’t be dismissed as “regular mischief.”
“If not detected early, this behaviour can result in very critical penalties, even changing into life-threatening,” he emphasised. “In lots of instances, psychological assist can be essential to forestall recurrence.”
H.’s mother and father got steering and have been suggested to carefully observe the kid, spend extra time speaking together with her and search psychological session if the behaviour continues.
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