Medical Must-See: Hair today, giant trichobezoar tomorrow
In this case, drinking Coca-Cola might have been good for the patient.
This 16-year-old girl required surgery for a hairy situation: a giant gastric hairball.
She presented at Canada’s McMaster Children’s Hospital with non-bilious vomiting and a two-week history of abdominal pain.
Her GP, whom she had seen a week before, had reported no abnormalities on X-ray. She had no medical history other than NSAID use for menstrual pain.
Abdominal palpation identified mildly epigastric tenderness but no distention or signs of peritonitis.
