• Advances in pediatric surgery
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2010

Gastric trichobezoars are commonly observed in young women with trichotillomania and trichophagia. We encountered an 8-year-old girl who had trichotillomania and trichophagia with abdominal pain and a mass, which was diagnosed as a large gastric trichobezoar. On physical examination, a huge, firm nontender mobile mass was palpated in her epigastrium. An upper gastrointestinal series and abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed a large mass in the stomach. Endoscopic removal was tried but failed. Laparoscopic removal was therefore performed. The trichobezoar was successfully retrieved through a gastrotomy and removed through an extended umbilical trocar incision. This case demonstrates that laparoscopic removal of large gastric trichobezoars is feasible and safe without a large abdominal incision.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.433-437
• /
• 2005

Bezoars are concretions commonly found in the stomach and small bowel, and four types of bezoars have been described based on their composition : trichobezoar, phytobezoar, lactorbezoar, and miscellaneous. Bezoars most often develop after gastric operations that alter the motility, emptying, and grinding of food in the stomach. Trichobezoars are most common in female children with normal gastrointestinal function and are usually associated with pica, mental retardation, and psychiatric disorders. Although uncommon, bezoars are a well-recognized cause of chronic abdominal complaints which, when undiagnosed, can result in serious complications including gastric ulceration, bleeding, perforation, intussusception and small bowel obstruction. Mortality rates of up to 30 percent have been reported in adults. Trichotillomania is behaviors surrounding hair-pulling, including stroking and playing with hair before pulling, or biting and swallowing the hair after it has been pulled(trichophagia). The most notorious of the medical sequelae of trichotillomania is the trichobezoar. We experienced a case of trichobezoar in an 11-year-old girl who frequently swallowed her hairs from age 4 years up to age 7 years, resulting in intermittent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.230-234
• /
• 2009

Trichobezoars are commonly found within the stomach, but rarely induce small bowel obstruction. We report an 8-year-old girl who presented with bilious vomiting and colicky abdominal pain. She had a history of depression and trichophagia. A diagnosis of small bowel obstruction was made on computed tomography and a trichobezoar in the ileum was evacuated by exploratory laparatomy.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.293-304
• /
• 2022

Among several diseases of calves, diarrhea is the most prevalent disease and has been a major cause of economic loss to the cattle industry. The main etiologic agents of diarrhea in calves are bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, but non-infectious factors including foreign bodies obstruction in the digestive system also focused as the cause of calf diarrhea in the recent days. Because there is still limited information for foreign body-related diarrhea in calves, especially in Hanwoo, the present retrospective study reviewed the medical records for diarrheic calves with foreign body in the digestive system (n=32). The morbidity was determined as 3.03% and more than half of them presented the acidosis, hyponatremia, and azotemia. The mortality in laparotomy-operated calves to remove foreign bodies or in non-operated ones was 28% or 85.7%, respectively, implied the importance of aggressive decision for laparotomy when the foreign bodies were determined in the digestive system in diarrheic calves. During laparotomy, trichobezoars (hair balls) and hays were the main foreign bodies and prevalently placed in the abomasum. In the trials to predict prognosis by several clinical factors, the time for laparotomy over 2 days after first diagnosis, acidosis, and foreign body in the abomasum were highly associated with mortality. Therefore, we believe that prompt surgical procedure (laparotomy) is necessary upon obstruction in the digestive system by foreign bodies is tentatively diagnosed in the diarrheic calf. In addition, when differential diagnosis list is made, foreign body-related diarrhea is necessary to be included in case of diarrheic calf.