Intestinal and Peritoneal Adhesions
Open access
Peer reviewed
Scollr summary
What this paper is about
This patient represents a unique case in that her condition began 2 years ago and has been stable in severity ever since it began, demonstrating the importance of having this disease on the differential diagnosis even for those who do not have another clear mental illness and who do not meet the usual criteria of psychiatric causes.
Full abstract
Read the full abstract
Abstract Background Trichotillomania is a disorder consisting of repetitive hair pulling due to a strong urge to do so with a sense of relief after. Trichophagia is closely related to trichotillomania and involves the eating of hair that has been pulled out. It is estimated that only 1% of patients with trichophagia go on to develop a trichobezoar, a bezoar made of hair. Trichobezoars are formed when the hair strands get stuck within the folds of the gastric wall and eventually form a ball as the hair accumulates. Case presentation A 16-year-old Caucasian girl was transferred to our hospital with vomiting and a suspected gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction. Upon an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, it was discovered that she had a large bezoar spanning her stomach and duodenum which was surgically removed due to inability to reach it with a scope. It was found to contain hair and after interviewing the patient a diagnosis of trichotillomania was made. There was no noticeable hair loss on the patient. The psychiatry team started her on sertraline 25 mg with a referral for CBT once discharged from the hospital. Conclusions This patient represents a unique case in that her condition began 2 years ago and has been stable in severity ever since it began. This case demonstrates the importance of having this disease on the differential diagnosis even for those who do not have another clear mental illness and who do not meet the usual criteria of psychiatric causes. Given that trichobezoars have the potential to be very dangerous, and sometimes even deadly, it is important to not overlook this diagnosis in an adolescent female with nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain even in the absence of noticeable hair loss or a coexisting psychiatric disorder.
Direct answer
What can I do from this paper page?
Use this page to scan "Rapunzel syndrome in a 16-year-old girl without noticeable hair loss or bald patches: a case report" quickly: start with the summary and abstract, then check the authors, source, topics, and related papers. From here, open Scollr to follow Intestinal and Peritoneal Adhesions research, save the paper, or map adjacent work.
Research areas
Follow related topics
Citation
BibTeX
@article{Despart2026Rapunzel,
title = {Rapunzel syndrome in a 16-year-old girl without noticeable hair loss or bald patches: a case report},
author = {Amanda Despart and Mitchel Rousseau and Marisha Schwab and William Schu and Pia Maria Ghanimé and Stephan Martone and Hanan Mursi},
journal = {Journal of Medical Case Reports},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1186/s13256-026-06176-8},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-026-06176-8}
}FAQ
Using this paper in a discovery workflow
How do I find related work for this paper?
Use the related papers and topic links on this page as starting points. In Scollr, you can also open the paper and build a literature map around its references, citing papers, and related work.
How can I keep up with new Intestinal and Peritoneal Adhesions research papers?
Follow Intestinal and Peritoneal Adhesions research in Scollr. New papers from the topic flow into a personalized feed, and you can save useful studies to revisit later.
Can I cite this paper from this page?
This page includes a static BibTeX block for Rapunzel syndrome in a 16-year-old girl without noticeable hair loss or bald patches: a case report. Always verify the DOI, source, and publication details against the publisher record before submitting a manuscript.
Follow this research in Scollr
Follow the topics and authors behind this paper, save useful studies, and build a literature map when you are ready to go deeper.
Get the app