Laparoscopic treatment of Rapunzel syndrome – a case report and literature review

Abstract

The case report describes a rare case of the cause of abdominal pain and palpable resis­tance in the epigastric region. A CT scan of the abdomen was performed with a surprising cause of the trouble – a trichobezoar filling the stomach, also described as Rapunzel syndrome, i.e. Goldilocks syndrome. Upon further questioning, the patient‘s mother retrospectively admits her daughter‘s pulling out her own hair (trichotillomania) and eating it (trichophagia) since the age of four. The finding was consulted, and could not be removed by gastroscopy due to its size. A successful laparoscopic gastrotomy with total extraction of the trichobezoar was performed. The child recovered without complications. A psychiatric evaluation was performed and the child was discharged home on the 10^th postoperative day.

doi: 10.48095/ccrvch2025165