TRICHOBEZOAR without a gastric component as the etiological factor in intestinal obstruction is unusual. Despite its rarity in any age group, this condition should be considered in all cases of intermittent or partial intestinal obstruction. Patients with this condition present a symptom complex which should permit a presumptive preoperative diagnosis.
Bezoars are described as concretions of various foreign or intrinsic substances found in the stomach and the intestines of both man and animal. Those in man have been classified as trichobezoar (hairball), trichophytobezoar (ball of hair and vegetable fiber), phytobezoar (ball of vegetable fiber), and other concretions. Trichobezoar occurs more frequently in females than in males, and most frequently between the ages of 10 and 19 yr.1
In a comprehensive review article, DeBakey and Ochsner1 collected 171 cases of trichobezoar and added one of their own. They found that trichobezoars occurred in 55.3% of 311 reported cases of