Trichobezoar in a patient with sickle cell anemia: A pain crisis is not always to blame

Trichobezoar, a ball of hair in the stomach, is an under-diagnosed problem that should be considered in patients with an upper abdominal pain and mass, weight loss, and bowel obstruction especially in young girls with underlying psychiatric disorder or mental retardation. Patients with sickle cell disease are susceptible to experiencing pica including, in rare occasions, trichophagia that could lead to formation of a trichobezoar, resulting in serious abdominal complications which are likely to be confused with ordinary vaso-occlusive pain crises. Here we present the rare case of gastric trichobezoar in a 9 year old girl with sickle cell anemia.