DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjmcr.2026.v14i11.024

Pages: 2507-2511

Trichobezoar is an intragastric accumulation of ingested hair, usually related to trichotillomania and trichophagia, and is mostly seen in adolescent girls. We report a 6-year-old girl with a one-year history of episodic epigastric pain and vomiting, partially relieved by symptomatic treatment, and trichophagia since the age of 4 years, who was admitted for acute worsening of her symptoms. Examination revealed left temporal alopecia and a tender epigastric mass of about 7 cm, and laboratory tests showed microcytic anaemia (haemoglobin 9 g/dL). Ultrasound demonstrated a curvilinear hyperechoic band with dense posterior acoustic shadowing. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a large, heterogeneous, non-enhancing intraluminal gastric mass with concentric layers and trapped air, extending to the first part of the duodenum, without complication. A 72-mm trichobezoar forming a cast of the stomach was removed through laparotomy and anterior gastrotomy, and no residual fragment was found in the small bowel. Recovery was uneventful, and the child was referred for psychiatric care; she remained asymptomatic at two months. This case shows that trichobezoar should be considered in young children with chronic epigastric symptoms, that questioning about hair eating and scalp examination are simple diagnostic clues, and that CT allows a reliable preoperative diagnosis when endoscopy is not readily available.