Abstract
A 22-year-old woman was diagnosed with autism at a local hospital. She was admitted to our hospital for abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed residue and fluid in the duodenum and small intestine and a gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed hair bezoar in the stomach. Four days later, the hair bezoar induced a serious intestinal obstruction and an emergency operation was performed. At laparotomy, large hair bezoars were removed from the stomach and small intestine, via gastrotomy and enterotomy. Total weight of the hair bezoars was 800 g. A large hair bezoar in the stomach is not expected to be naturally excreted from the intestinal tract. When the preoperative diagnosis is made, a surgical removal should be chosen immediately. Hair bezoars are commonly found in young females usually with an underlying psychiatric disorder. Hence long-term psychiatric follow-up is necessary.
