CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Trusting Your Gut: A Hairy Situation – Gastric Trichobezoar Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- Valley Health System, Paramus, United States
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Trichobezoars are rare masses made from ingested hair that are commonly seen in young females. We report a case of a 7-year-old girl who presented with generalized abdominal pain and rapid weight loss. Initial evaluation with radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and upper gastrointestinal series (UGI) suggested superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome but failed to provide a definitive diagnosis. A gastric trichobezoar was ultimately identified on esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). While uncommon, trichobezoars should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pediatric patients, especially females presenting with nonspecific symptoms. Without obvious alopecia or a known psychiatric history, diagnosis is often delayed due to symptoms overlapping with other conditions, and EGD evaluation should be considered.
Keywords: EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy), imaging, pediatric, Trichobezoar, Trichophagia, trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder)
Received: 19 Nov 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Yeung, Dankner, Quiros, Lazar, Li, Walker and Chokhavatia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Amy Yeung
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