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80s_Fan · 11-22-2007, 12:04 PM

Doctors untangle the strange case of the giant hairball story
Patient complained of weight loss, pain and vomiting after eating
Woman suffered from trichophagia: A habit of eating her hair
Doctors removed a 10-pound hairball from the patient's stomach
The woman is doing much better a year after the surgery
_________________________________________________________________

(CNN) -- It may not be the most appetizing reading before a hearty holiday meal, but the New England Journal of Medicine is devoting part of its Thanksgiving issue to a giant hairball -- and not the feline kind.

Doctors say this hairball removed from a woman's stomach weighed 10 pounds.

The prestigious journal details the case of a previously healthy 18-year-old woman who consulted a team of gastrointestinal specialists.

She complained of a five-month history of pain and swelling in her abdomen, vomiting after eating and a 40-pound weight loss.

After a scan of the woman's abdomen showed a large mass, doctors lowered a scope through her esophagus.

It revealed "a large bezoar occluding nearly the entire stomach," wrote Drs. Ronald M. Levy and Srinadh Komanduri, gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.

For the uninitiated, a bezoar is a hairball.

"On questioning, the patient stated that she had had a habit of eating her hair for many years -- a condition called trichophagia," they wrote.

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New England Journal of Medicine
"It seemed like she'd been doing this for several years," Levy told CNN.

The woman underwent surgery to remove the mass of black, curly hair, which weighed 10 pounds and measured 15 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches, the doctors said.

Five days later, she was eating normally and was sent home.

A year later, the pain and vomiting were gone, the patient had regained 20 pounds "and reports that she has stopped eating her hair."

Reached at his home in Chicago, Levy said he had no idea whether the journal's timing of the publication on Thanksgiving was intentional.

Either way, he said, it would not affect the gastroenterologists' holiday dinner plans -- "We don't get fazed by much."

PlayOn · 11-22-2007, 01:38 PM

I find it funny you talk about hairballs and you have Garfield as your advatar. Just thought I'd point that out. J/K

Seriously tho, I just skimmed through the article, but it sounds nasty. Something you shouldn't read after eating turkey...or anything.

bingbangbaby · 11-22-2007, 03:14 PM

10 lbs! That's like two sacks of flour !! Ack. And black curly hair? What are we supposed to make of that?? This is disgusting. I wonder how and why one develops a habit like that.

TripperFan · 11-22-2007, 03:35 PM

Somebody needs to put that malt hairball remedy stuff on her nose or in every meal!!

11-22-2007, 12:04 PM	#1
80s_Fan Healthcare_Clerk Senior Member Join Date: May 26, 2004 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 1,697	Check This Out Doctors untangle the strange case of the giant hairball story Patient complained of weight loss, pain and vomiting after eating Woman suffered from trichophagia: A habit of eating her hair Doctors removed a 10-pound hairball from the patient's stomach The woman is doing much better a year after the surgery _________________________________________________________________ (CNN) -- It may not be the most appetizing reading before a hearty holiday meal, but the New England Journal of Medicine is devoting part of its Thanksgiving issue to a giant hairball -- and not the feline kind. Doctors say this hairball removed from a woman's stomach weighed 10 pounds. The prestigious journal details the case of a previously healthy 18-year-old woman who consulted a team of gastrointestinal specialists. She complained of a five-month history of pain and swelling in her abdomen, vomiting after eating and a 40-pound weight loss. After a scan of the woman's abdomen showed a large mass, doctors lowered a scope through her esophagus. It revealed "a large bezoar occluding nearly the entire stomach," wrote Drs. Ronald M. Levy and Srinadh Komanduri, gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. For the uninitiated, a bezoar is a hairball. "On questioning, the patient stated that she had had a habit of eating her hair for many years -- a condition called trichophagia," they wrote. Don't Miss New England Journal of Medicine "It seemed like she'd been doing this for several years," Levy told CNN. The woman underwent surgery to remove the mass of black, curly hair, which weighed 10 pounds and measured 15 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches, the doctors said. Five days later, she was eating normally and was sent home. A year later, the pain and vomiting were gone, the patient had regained 20 pounds "and reports that she has stopped eating her hair." Reached at his home in Chicago, Levy said he had no idea whether the journal's timing of the publication on Thanksgiving was intentional. Either way, he said, it would not affect the gastroenterologists' holiday dinner plans -- "We don't get fazed by much."

11-22-2007, 01:38 PM	#2
PlayOn ADHD: what I have not who I am Senior Member Join Date: Jun 17, 2006 Location: I'll never tell. :p Posts: 2,745	I find it funny you talk about hairballs and you have Garfield as your advatar. Just thought I'd point that out. J/K Seriously tho, I just skimmed through the article, but it sounds nasty. Something you shouldn't read after eating turkey...or anything.
	__________________ Have you heard the ? Jesus saves!!!

11-22-2007, 03:35 PM	#4
TripperFan In God's Arms Now Forum Star Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: Heartbreak Ridge Posts: 12,086	Somebody needs to put that malt hairball remedy stuff on her nose or in every meal!!
	__________________ If I don't see you in this world, I'll meet you in the next one.....don't be late James Marshall Hendrix Voodoo Chile The Forum Legend formerly known as TripperFan "religion is for people who are afraid of hell--spirituality is for people who have been through hell"---anonymous

11-22-2007, 03:14 PM	#3
bingbangbaby I see you!! Senior Member Join Date: Jul 15, 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,070	10 lbs! That's like two sacks of flour !! Ack. And black curly hair? What are we supposed to make of that?? This is disgusting. I wonder how and why one develops a habit like that.