A peer-reviewed clinical surgical case report published on October 5, 2026, detailed the successful operative extraction and clinical management of Rapunzel syndrome in a thirty-two-year-old female patient presenting at a premier tertiary healthcare institution. Rapunzel syndrome represents an exceedingly rare, severe variant of gastric trichobezoar wherein an ingested hair mass forms a dense cast of the stomach with a tail-like extension traversing into the duodenum and jejunum.
The patient initially presented with persistent epigastric abdominal pain, severe early satiety, microcytic anemia, and unexplained postprandial vomiting spanning several months. Advanced contrast-enhanced computed tomography and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy delineated a colossal, obstructive trichobezoar, prompting surgical teams to perform an urgent exploratory laparotomy and anterior gastrotomy to extricate the intact seventy-centimeter-long fibrous mass without intestinal perforation.
Surgeons reported that the patient made an uneventful postoperative recovery and was subsequently initiated on multidisciplinary psychiatric counseling and behavioral therapy to address underlying trichotillomania and trichophagia. Medical authors underscored that long-term psychological follow-up and empathetic family support remain critical to preventing recurrence in patients affected by this rare psychosomatic disorder.
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