Rapunzel Syndrome of a Cotton Bezoar in a Multimorbid Patient

Bezoars are foreign bodies that form masses in the gastric or intestinal lumen, particularly in mentally retarded or psychiatric patients. Classifications of bezoars are made according to the content of the bezoar, such as trichobezoars (of hairs), phytobezoars (of vegetable fibers), lactobezoars (of milk products), and others containing medications or other foreign materials. Whatever the etiology, the usual location of bezoar formation is the stomach; the addition of new materials to this nidus increases the size of the bezoar. On very rare occasions, part of the parent mass extends as a tail into the intestine. Due to the similarity of the tail of the bezoar to the hair of the female prisoner in a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers, this condition has been named the Rapunzel Syndrome.