A 19-year-old-girl in Indore, India went to the hospital last month complaining that she "hadn't been able to eat or drink for a few days." Doctors performed an examination and discovered a massive blockage filling her stomach and small intestine.
The girl was rushed into surgery, and doctors removed a four pound hairball from her GI tract. The girl reportedly "had a bad habit of eating her hair and chalk while in class," and the resulting impaction created a truly stunning mass.
Formally known as a "bezoar," these impacted masses have been removed from people and animals for centuries. Bezoars can be formed from either organic or inorganic materials. In people they are often caused by pica (a psychological or medical condition which compels the sufferer to eat non-food items, such as hair or chalk). A bezoar composed mainly of hair is called a Trichobezoar. Premature babies fed formula will often form bezoars made from dried up lumps of formula powder, called a Lactobezoar.
