The image shows a medical case originally from Tâm Anh General Hospital
The patient was a young girl who suffered from chronic, unexplained abdominal pain and severe vomiting for months. Out of concern, her mother took her to the hospital for a comprehensive medical examination.
Upon scanning the girl's digestive system, doctors discovered a massive, dense hairball (trichobezoar) measuring nearly 20 cm (roughly 8 inches) inside her stomach. Because human hair cannot be digested or passed naturally by the gastrointestinal tract, it had steadily accumulated over several years, binding with food particles and mucus until it completely filled the organ.
The patient was diagnosed with Pica syndrome and trichophagia—psychological conditions where a person compulsively pulls out and swallows their own hair, often driven by underlying anxiety or emotional stress. Surgeons successfully performed surgery to remove the entire mass intact, and the girl was given follow-up care including behavioral and psychiatric therapy to address the root habit and prevent recurrence.
