Story perspectives

UK Doctors Remove Massive Trichobezoar After 2-Year Hair Eating

9/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Doctors in the United Kingdom surgically removed a massive trichobezoar from a 16-year-old girl.
She had persistent vomiting; CT scans showed the hairball blocking her stomach and duodenum.
She reported no hair loss, mood-disorder diagnosis, or other psychiatric signs before the episode.
She later admitted pulling and eating three hairs weekly for roughly two years, unnoticed.
Authors caution clinicians to assess trichobezoar in vomiting adolescent females even without hair loss.

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Story summary

Doctors in the United Kingdom surgically removed a massive trichobezoar from a 16-year-old girl.
She had persistent vomiting; CT scans showed the hairball blocking her stomach and duodenum.
She reported no hair loss, mood-disorder diagnosis, or other psychiatric signs before the episode.
She later admitted pulling and eating three hairs weekly for roughly two years, unnoticed.
Authors caution clinicians to assess trichobezoar in vomiting adolescent females even without hair loss.