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A nine-year-old girl underwent surgery at NIMS Medicity near Neyyattinkara, Kerala, after doctors found a large mass of hair obstructing her digestive tract, according to an October 3, 2026 report by Hindustan Times, citing PTI and hospital authorities. The report says around one kilogram of hair was removed from her stomach and small intestine. Rapunzel syndrome is the name for a hair mass that extends from the stomach into the small intestine.
What happened in the Kerala case?
The Hindustan Times account says the girl was brought to NIMS Medicity with abdominal pain and vomiting. Ultrasound and CT scans showed severe intestinal obstruction, and an endoscopy confirmed a large accumulation of hair in her stomach and small intestine. Doctors reportedly removed around one kilogram of hair. The report says she recovered, resumed eating and was discharged.
Onmanorama’s October 3 report also describes the removal of a one-kilogram hair mass and says the child was discharged in good health after treatment led by Dr Biju IG Nair, senior consultant in paediatric surgery at NIMS Medicity. These are details reported by news outlets citing hospital authorities; a full hospital case record was not available in the coverage.
What does Rapunzel syndrome mean?
A trichobezoar is a mass formed by accumulated hair in the digestive tract. Rapunzel syndrome describes a trichobezoar that extends from the stomach through the pylorus—the opening between the stomach and small intestine—into the small intestine. Medical literature has not always used exactly the same criteria for the name, so the term’s precise anatomical definition can vary between reports. A radiology case report discusses that variation.
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Hair is difficult for the body to digest. Strands can become entangled and accumulate in the stomach, forming a mass. Kerala news coverage explains the condition generally in connection with repeated hair pulling and swallowing, but it does not establish the girl’s behavior or personal history. The diagnosis alone does not show that she had trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder, or trichophagia, the ingestion of hair.
How was the hair mass identified?
In the reported case, ultrasound and CT scans indicated obstruction, while endoscopy confirmed hair accumulation, according to Hindustan Times. Imaging can help show a trichobezoar and assess its extent. Endoscopy can identify a hair mass in the stomach, but may not by itself establish whether it continues into the intestine; imaging and findings during an operation can help determine that. The radiology report describes these diagnostic considerations.
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What is known—and not known—about the child’s treatment?
The coverage says surgery was performed, the girl recovered, began eating again and was discharged. It does not name the exact operation, describe her detailed postoperative care or report longer-term follow-up. A separate 2018 case report describes laparotomy and a scheduled psychiatric consultation for a different nine-year-old patient; those details should not be taken as part of the Kerala girl’s treatment.
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How rare is Rapunzel syndrome?
Onmanorama attributes an estimate of fewer than 100 reported cases worldwide to NIMS Medicity hospital authorities. The article does not cite a case registry or explain how the estimate was counted, so it should be treated as the hospital’s attributed estimate, not a definitive global total or a measure of how often the condition occurs.
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