A 6-year-old girl, Ming Ming (pseudonym), had sudden abdominal pain and was diagnosed with "Rapunzel syndrome" when she was found to have huge hair stones in her stomach.
Guang Weijun learned that recently, the expert team of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University used minimally invasive surgery to remove a hair stone with a size of about 18×9 cm for Ming Ming with only a single-hole incision of 2.5 cm.
Doctors warn that the disease is actually pica, which is more common in preschool children. In addition to surgical "stone removal", psychotherapy is more critical.
3 gastroscopies did not remove the giant hair stones
Single-port laparoscopy "solved" for her
2 months ago, Ming Ming had paroxysmal abdominal pain under the xiphoid process, and under gastroscopy, it was found that Ming Ming had a huge hair stone in his stomach. Despite 3 gastroscopies, the local hospital team was unable to remove the hair stones from Ming Ming's stomach.
Therefore, Mingming's parents took her to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and under the discussion of the team of Professor Deng Xiaogeng, director of the pediatric surgery department of the hospital, it was decided to perform a single-port laparoscopic gastrotomy to remove giant hair stones.
▲CT scan showed that there were huge hair stones in the stomach
During the operation, the doctor made an incision of skin at the lower edge of the Ming Ming Umbilical Foramen, opened a wound of about 2.5cm, and inserted a disposable single-hole incision fixation protective sleeve and puncture cannula. The surgical team used ultrasound to cut the stomach wall in the non-vascular area of the stomach, and then pulled the end of the hair stone out of the stomach cavity, put it into a specimen protection bag, and moved out of the abdominal cavity through the subumbilical incision. The surgery went smoothly and he recovered well after surgery without complications and was discharged from the hospital 1 week after the surgery.
According to public media reports
Previously, it also appeared in China
Multiple cases of "Rapunzel syndrome"
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"Rapunzel syndrome" is actually pica
Psychotherapy is important
Deng Xiaogeng introduced that the gastrolithiasis suffered by Ming Ming refers to the foreign body formed by the human body swallowing human or animal hair in the stomach and coagulation, also known as "Rapunzel syndrome", also known as "La Ponzel syndrome", which is mostly seen in pica.
"Pica is a special habit of developing a special craving for indigestible foreign bodies, which is more common in preschool children. In terms of symptoms, common symptoms include abdominal pain, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, etc. ”
The causes of Rapunzel syndrome may involve environmental, physiological, and psychological factors.
In terms of environmental factors, it is related to factors such as poor family relationship, parents' neglect to take care of their children, and separation of mother and baby. These patients tend to be withdrawn, have a long history of ingesting foreign bodies alone, and are mostly chronic, eventually forming conditioned reflexes.
In terms of physiological factors, the lack of trace elements such as iron and zinc in the body can also lead to pica.
In terms of psychological factors, some children are prone to hallucinations due to mental disorders and unconsciously eat foreign bodies. Studies have also found that the satisfaction of some children's food needs is not measured by whether they are full, but by whether the movement needs of the mouth are met.
"Many parents will correct their children by scolding when they find that their children have eaten foreign bodies, but this may cause their children's eating behavior to become more hidden. When a child learns to secretly eat a foreign object, this is likely to have more serious consequences. Deng Xiaogeng reminded that if parents find that their children have pica, they should seek help from a doctor as soon as possible.
In addition to surgical stone removal, psychotherapy is also a key part. For children with pica, parents should pay more attention to meet the emotional needs of their children, avoid correcting their children through violence, actively participate in psychological treatment, patiently educate and train, treat and guide with the help of doctors, and correct their children's bad behaviors in a timely manner, so as to truly and effectively prevent them.
Reporter | Zhang Zhiying
Edit | Yang Yu Editor-in-charge| Zhang Xiuli
Correspondents | Huang Rui, Wu Yaohao
Produced by the Guangdong Health Online all-media team