23.02.2026 15:19
A 14-year-old girl who was taken to the hospital in Hatay with complaints of abdominal pain and nausea recovered after approximately 3 kilograms of hairball, which was found to have spread from her stomach to her intestines, was surgically removed.
A 14-year-old girl who was taken to the hospital with complaints of abdominal pain and nausea in Hatay regained her health after approximately 3 kilograms of hairball, which was found to have spread from her stomach to her intestines, was surgically removed. Sultan Bönceoğlu, who lives in the İskenderun district, was taken to Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Research and Application Hospital by her family due to her abdominal pain and nausea complaints.
As a result of the examinations, the girl was diagnosed with "trichobezoar," a condition caused by the habit of eating hair. Bönceoğlu, who was found to have a large hairball that spread from her stomach to her intestines, underwent surgery. During the operation, approximately 3 kilograms of mass was removed from her abdomen, and Bönceoğlu was relieved of her complaints.
"WE ACHIEVED THE REVITALIZATION OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES"
Prof. Dr. Çiğdem El, the Head of the Department of Pediatric Health and Diseases at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, told AA correspondent that the disease stemmed from the habit of eating hair.
EARLY DIAGNOSIS IS IMPORTANT
"In our evaluations with both the pediatric health and pediatric surgery teams, we decided on an emergency surgical intervention. With the intervention, we achieved a kind of revitalization of the stomach and intestines. Fortunately, the timing coincided with a period when the circulation of the stomach and intestines had not deteriorated, and it had not yet decayed or perforated. A 3-kilogram mass was removed from the patient's stomach to her intestines."
HAIR EATING HABIT STARTED AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
Sultan's mother, Hacer Bönceoğlu, also explained that her daughter started the habit of eating hair after the earthquakes on February 6, 2023. Bönceoğlu expressed that her child was stressed during that period, saying, "During the examination, it was determined that my daughter had a knot in her intestines and a hairball in her stomach. We were shocked and very upset. We had experienced the earthquake. After the earthquake, I noticed that my daughter was pulling her hair and putting it in her mouth."
Bönceoğlu added that she was happy about her daughter's recovery.