Rapunzel syndrome: A rare cause of intestinal obstruction. A case report

10.17605/OSF.IO/SD46M

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Guillén-Montiel JM, Carpinteyro-Espinoza RA, Monroy-Romero JB, Flores-Solares E. Am J Med Surg. November 2021; 6(2). 4-7.

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BACKGROUND.

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare form of gastric trichobezoar with post-pyloric extension associated with intestinal obstruction. It is a suspected diagnosis in female and young patients with a palpable epigastric tumor associated with intestinal obstruction.

We report a case of a 16-year-old female patient with an 8-year history of trichotillomania and trichophagia, who presented with intestinal occlusion and tomographic confirmation of Rapunzel's syndrome with gastric bezoar fragmentation and migration of the fragment to the distal ileum; managed with gastrotomy and enterotomy achieving satisfactory extraction of both trichobezoars.

 

KEY WORDS: Rapunzel syndrome, trichobezoar, intestinal obstruction.