Laparoscopic removal of a huge gastric trichobezoar in a patient with trichotillomania.

Gastric bezoars are rare, and are commonly observed in female children with mental or emotional disorders. Large bezoars may not be suitable for endoscopic extraction and are conventionally removed at laparotomy. We present a 19-year-old girl who had trichotillomania with a symptomatic abdominal mass that represented a 17-cm gastric trichobezoar. This was removed laparoscopically through a gastrotomy in a water-impervious bag and was extracted piecemeal through a 4-cm extension of one of the port wounds. The bezoar weighed 720 g. She was discharged home on the third postoperative day and remains symptom-free at 12-month follow-up. Laparoscopic removal of large gastric trichobezoars is feasible and appears safe.