' 1.5-metre Hair-Rope' removed from 'Rapunzel Syndrome' girl's intestine

NEW DELHI: (June 7 2013) In a bizarre case, doctors at a private hospital recently operated upon a 14-year-old girl whose habit of eating her own hair had led to the formation of a 1.5-metre-long rope-like obstruction in her intestine. The girl, doctors said, suffers from Rapunzel Syndrome, a condition in which the patient plucks and swallows hair. Worldwide, only 30 such cases have been reported, four of them in India.

Dr Parabal Roy, senior consultant, advanced surgery at the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) said the girl first complained of severe abdominal pain. "Blood tests and ultrasound did not show any abnormality but a CT scan revealed a huge mass of hair in her abdomen," he said. The girl later admitted to eating her hair. "It had formed a 1.5-metre rope inside her entire stomach and extended into her intestines, causing intestinal obstruction. The hair was cutting through the bowel wall and could have caused a life threatening perforation," Roy said.

The hair was removed in an open surgery on May 23. "The girl is doing fine post-surgery and she is undergoing pediatric psychiatric consultation for prevention of recurrence," said another senior doctor. Rapunzel Syndrome is a rare disorder seen mostly in adolescent females. Common symptoms are nausea and vomiting, obstructive jaundice, anaemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, weight loss and other serious problems.TOI