Large “stone” found in stomach of 7-year-old girl who likes eating hair and nails

Shenzhen Children’s Hospital recently removed a large stone-like object from the stomach of a 7-year-old girl. The stone turned out to be a gastric calculus, and the girl is suffering from the mental disorder pica and is fond of eating hair and nails. 

The 7-year-old girl Shishi went to the hospital due to stomachache on Aug. 31, 2015. Shishi went to Shenzhen to visit her family during the summer holiday. The doctor found a hard lump in her stomach.

The doctor learnt from her parents that the little girl had tended to eat her hair and nails from the age of 5. After a CT check, the doctor diagnosed that she was ill with gastric calculus obstruction.

The stone’s size and hardness made it difficult to remove from her stomach via gastroscopy, so the doctor had to perform a surgery on the little girl to take the stone out. She is making a good recovery.

Xiao Dong, doctor at the hospital reminds parents that if they find their children like eating strange things, they should stop them to do so and send them to hospital to find the cause.