Síndrome de Rapunzel en adolescentes: revisión de la literatura a propósito de un caso

Abstract

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare trichobezoar in adolescents, generally found in patients with anxiety disorder, who develop trichotillomania and subsequently ingest their hair. This is a review of the literature on Rapunzel syndrome in children under 18 years of age, regarding the case of a 16-year-old adolescent who attended the Sogamoso Regional Hospital due to pain in the upper hemiabdomen, vomiting, anemia and mass in right hypochondrium and flank. The diagnosis was made by endoscopy of the upper digestive tract and the patient was taken to surgery where a gastrotomy was performed and a large trichobezoar was removed, extending to the duodenum. The patient had an adequate clinical evolution. This type of pathology should be suspected in young patients with clinical signs and symptoms such as those described, and environmental factors that influence the development of underlying anxiety disorders should be ruled out.